Billionaire Russian Oligarch Buys $35 Million Beverly Hills Megamansion
By James McClain
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Trousdale Estates is arguably the most desirable enclave in Beverly Hills, famous for its collection of trendy midcentury modern homes with panoramic L.A. skyline views. One of the largest and most private residences up there recently made waves when it sold for $35 million, a discount from the hefty $46 million asking price but still among the biggest transactions ever recorded in the area.
The multi-winged house is indisputably massive, spanning a megamansion-worthy 20,500+ square feet of living space, and was designed by acclaimed local architect Noah Walker . And although nobody will mistake the hulking pad for a modest midcentury, the house does sport a pared-down, minimalist interior look that does not clash with the overall neighborhood vibe — and is notably warmer than many of the sterile contemporary box-style homes that have come to define L.A.’s mountainous ridgelines, to boot.
Sold by the Woodbridge Liquidation Trust as part of the Viewpoint Collection — the brand portfolio of luxury properties offered for sale as part of the now-defunct developer’s ongoing legal proceedings — the current house was developed over the course of four years, and replaced a large but architecturally insignificant residence.
The spendy $35 million cash buyer is Danil Khachaturov , a Russian insurance tycoon whose net worth has been clocked at $2 billion, per Forbes. Khachaturov, 48, has long been one of Moscow’s most prominent businessmen and holds a controlling stake in Rosgosstrakh, a multibillion-dollar juggernaut that is Russia’s largest insurance agency. And in 2018, he was one of 96 billionaire Russian oligarchs called out by the Trump administration for having a particularly “close relationship to Vladimir Putin.”
On the personal front, Khachaturov has been married and divorced at least twice. One of his ex-wives is high-profile Russian designer Ulyana Sergeenko, a particularly stylish member of international high society who owns a celeb-favored eponymous couture brand ; her clients include the likes of Emilia Clarke, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian West.
Khachaturov’s ultra-private new 90210 digs are situated at the end of a whisper-quiet cul-de-sac and invisible from the street, tucked away on a 1.2-acre flag lot behind tall driveway gates. A rigidly manicured front yard has two flat pads of grassy lawn, and the home’s façade features a deft blend of exposed concrete, wood, steel, and glass.
Guests will be awed by the sheer volume of the home’s public rooms, the open-concept floorplan includes seemingly endless hallways with acres of glass and more monolithic expanses of wood and concrete. There are two kitchens — one a more utilitarian “service” kitchen, the other a designer’s chic wet dream with two limousine-sized islands, both slathered in exotic cuts of marble, with custom Gaggenau appliances and an adjacent wine cellar. The enormous glass walls open automatically, allowing direct access to a 2,000 sq. ft. outdoor deck and an 84-foot lap pool.
The residence also offers a unique in-ground lighting setup meant for displaying and highlighting the owner’s fine art collection throughout the three-level structure. Other interesting and/or artistic touches include bathrooms with circular skylights, a kitchen-sized wet bar hewn entirely from a gorgeous grey-green block of marble, a wellness center with sauna and a movie theater that can accommodate a small army, quite literally.
Perhaps the property’s one downside is its lack of showstopping views of the Downtown L.A. skyline or Century City and the ocean; still, there are bird’s-eye viewpoints that gaze out toward the San Fernando Valley and the San Gabriel mountains, overlooking a portion of the Hollywood Hills, providing a unique alternative to the typical sightlines now de rigueur in this price range.
Tomer Fridman and Sally Forster Jones of Compass jointly held the listing; Olga Laron and Sandra Miller of Engel & Völkers repped Khachaturov.
