Today’s Wall Street Journal featured Spelling Manor in Los Angeles, one of the largest homes in the world. At 56,500 square feet, it is slightly larger than the White House, and more than 21 times the size of the average American house. The French chateau-style home has a bowling alley, a wine cellar and tasting room, a screening room, a tennis court, a pool and hot tub, and a beauty salon with massage and tanning rooms.
Spelling Manor was built around 1990 by legendary television producer Aaron Spelling and his wife Candy Spelling.
Petra Ecclestone, daughter of the British billionaire and Formula One racing boss Bernie Ecclestone, bought the home in 2011 for $85 million. She famously hired a team of roughly 500 workers to complete a massive renovation.
The roughly five-acre, 120-room property is so big it is actually tiring to traverse, according to Sam Palmer (Petra’s fiance). “It’s a lot of walking,” he said. “Everything is far away. Even to just go a couple of rooms down, it’s a few minutes’ walk.” (Don’t you feel bad about all that walking to get from one room to another?)
The master suite alone spanned roughly 7,500 square feet or about three times the size of the average house.
The house requires 35 to 50 full-time staff members.
Petra recently sold the house for $120 million in 2019 (down from the original asking price of $200 million) because she and her fiance wanted to downsize.
And downsize they have, to a 17,000 square foot house in the Brentwood area of L.A….
So there’s another peak look at how the other .0001 percent lives. I’d spend my days watching movies, swimming, and bowling.
I guess that’s why I don’t live in a $120 million dollar home.
Note: music listened to was the Spotify Playlist: Morning Classical – uplifting classical melodies to help you rise and shine.
*image from WSJ story
“It’s a lot of walking. Everything is far away.” Don’t think most of us commoners are going to feel too much sympathy.🤣
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I thought I had it bad trying to keep up with our 60-room house… 🙂
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No wonder they have to downsize. Apparently, they weren’t willing to rent out all their extra rooms to help pay the mortgage.
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their master bedroom is three times the size of my house; I wonder how much they would rent it for…
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More than I could afford. I’d have to settle for living in their spacious broom closet.
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a family of four could probably live in the broom closet…
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This home takes the sting out of being housebound for Covid-19. ha ha
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it certainly does… 🙂
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Lol their downsize is way more expensive of a house than I will ever afford!
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their downsized house is still about 7 times the size of our house…
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I would not mind my own private salon right now!
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that would be one of the key selling features of the house right now!
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I do not get why some people needs to have a house so big. I mean, I can see the point, it would be nice to run through corridors for half a kilometer, but still, two people don’t need such a big house. It would be a different case if it was a whole family (of 10+).. Nice post!
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yes, the house is a bit extreme. seems like it could be converted to a nice bed and breakfast for many people to use…
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Exactly! But I like the idea of a big house tho..
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I think we can all dream what it would be like to live in such a place…
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True..
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I am not sure whether to laugh or cry at this extravagance. I hope they pay that huge number of staff well. I house like this simply says to me, “I have too much money and have no idea how I could put it to better use.” It makes me assume you are extremely wealthy and some what out of touch with the world. Great post, Jim!
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thanks, Brad. I wouldn’t mind seeing what it’s like to have too much money…
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I, too, wish I had their problems.
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How the other 0.0001% must hate all that exercise. I’d get a motorbike to travel through the house if it were mine.
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I like the way you think. 🙂
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Ridiculous!! I can’t imagine! I wonder how much of the house they actually use?
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can you imagine if you misplaced something somewhere?
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Lol! That is funny as I misplace stuff all the time!!!
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You would have to hire someone full time just for the job of finding stuff 🙂
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That’s for sure!!
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Hard to imagine filling 120 rooms… or even 60!! 😮😊✨
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there must be rooms you could go weeks without ever stepping into…
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Like about 113 of them!
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🙂
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Looks a bit like my flat in Govanhill, but uglier. Cheers Jim
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That’s how I pictured your place. I hope in one of the rooms you’ve got Guinness on tap… 🙂
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Ha ha, every room!
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Next time I’m in Glasgow, I’ll stop by… 🙂
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Jim, I have a very slight, albeit a mere 2-3 degrees of separation, from connection with the Spelling manor, which actually predates its completion. Okay, it’s a big stretch, but here goes … As fate may have it, way back in 1986 ca. I had a part-time gig waitering at a 50s style diner in Toronto. It was frequented by actors and such, and also, an employer of many entertainers. One such fellow was Dean McDermott, the future and current husband of Tori Spelling. Dean was a big personality and a blast to hang out with. He eventually made his way to Hollywood and life changed. Nice guy from very modest beginnings. 😎
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that’s a great story, thanks for sharing. I’d call that one degree of separation. I have not heard of Dean, but I am guessing he is doing OK…
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Unfortunately, Dean’s been prime fodder on tabloids, reality tv and social media for awhile. But, yes, he appears to be doing alright.
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hmmmm…. another sign that I am out of touch… 🙂
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Now, there’s a blessing in disguise … I tend to skip media train wrecks, too. We’re not missing anything. 😊
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Wow.
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indeed…
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wow, not a place to call home, but rather a palace to show. my entire home would fit in one of the bathrooms. it makes me dizzy and tired just to imagine living there and keeping it all up and running.
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I agree. But I wouldn’t mind spending a weekend there just to explore the whole place…
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yes, now that would be fun )
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There is a size beyond which a house is not a home. Reasonable space is good so families and couples don’t annoy each other too much. I do miss the swimming pool though!
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and I miss the tennis court, the salon, the bowling alley, the wine cellar, the screening room, and my 7,500 square foot master bedroom. Sorry, the downsizing has been tough to deal with… 🙂
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Thanks for sharing Jim. Excuse me, but I need to sit down. I am worn out from exploring each of the 120 rooms. Can you imagine downsizing from 56,000 square feet to 17,000? Quite a shock!
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they must keep bumping into each other…
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