@theprincessknight__: Casa Encantada sold at foreclosure for $130 million. Its story began with Hilda Boldt Weber, a nurse who married into a fortune and built the estate to enter Los Angeles society. • Hilda was nurse to glass manufacturer Charles Boldt. They married, and when he passed away in 1929, she inherited his fortune. An unverified rumor says some suspected Hilda had a hand in his death. No records support it. • Hilda later married her butler, Otto Weber. Their marriage reportedly drew disapproval in Santa Barbara. In 1934, during the Great Depression, she bought Bel Air land for $100,000 and commissioned architect James E. Dolena to design the estate. • The Webers marked the opening with dinner and dancing for 250 guests. MGM cofounder Louis B. Mayer later praised the home. Hilda spent more than $2 million building and furnishing it, then held lavish parties to win acceptance among Los Angeles’s elite. • Poor investments and gambling reportedly drained her fortune. In 1950, she sold Casa Encantada and its furnishings to Conrad Hilton for $225,000. Hilda died by suicide the following year after an overdose of sleeping pills. • Hilton lived there until 1979, preserving much of the interior. Dole Food executive David Murdock bought it in 1980 for $12.4 million, a U.S. record then. He owned it for 20 years and hosted fundraisers with Presidents Nixon, Reagan, and George H. W. Bush. • In 2000, telecom executive Gary Winnick and his wife Karen paid $94 million, setting another record. Gary pursued the estate for years and spent tens of millions restoring it. The Winnicks listed it for $250 million in 2023. Gary passed away that year, and financial trouble led to foreclosure. • The estate sold at auction in July 2026 for $130 million. Peter Thiel, PayPal and Palantir cofounder and an early Facebook investor, was identified as buyer in September. His $500,000 Facebook investment reportedly generated over $1 billion. About 40,000 square feet on 8.4 acres. If you’d like to buy, sell, or invest in Los Angeles, let’s connect. I’m ROUJ, LA real estate advisor, bringing you the stories behind iconic real estate. #LosAngelesRealEstate #BeverlyHillsRealEstate #BelAirRealEstate #LAMarketUpdate #IconicLosAngeles

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Wednesday 04 November 2026 21:49:50 GMT