Microsoft's Paul Allen asks $150M for 122 acres of empty land atop a mountain in Beverly Hills with fairy tale views and a MILE-long drive - despite paying just $20M for the historic main home which he then razed

  • Paul Allen has put the 122 acres of land he purchased for $20 million in 1997 on the market for $150 million, despite razing the main home and all structures three years after the sale
  • The property is located in Beverly Hills and Allen has worked on the mile-long  driveway the leads through the property and terraced lawns
  • Allen, 65, certainly does not need the money, with a net worth of approximately $22 billion and a real estate portfolio that is worth well over one-billion dollars thanks to founding Microsoft with Bill Gates
  • The 122-acre property, named The Enchanted Hill by its first owners, was built in 1925 by legendary silent film stars Marian Seldes and Fred Thompson 
  • Thompson died three years later, and the wife of the third owner also died suddenly just a few years after moving into the home, which Allen razed  in 2000 to build one or two 50,000 sq. ft structures 

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Paul Allen is trying to move mountains. 

The Microsoft co-founder has put his 122-acre hillside spread in Beverly Hills on the market, with an asking price of $150 million.

Allen, 65, bought the property back in 1997 for $20 million, and three years after that made the decision to raze the main home and all other structures on the property, with reports at the time suggesting the notoriously reclusive business magnate might be building one - or possibly even two - 50,000-square-foot-residences. 

That never came to be though, and Allen instead focused on improving the mile-long driveway that leads from the gates of the property to the main home and cleaning up the land.

That seemed to be enough to increase the purchase price almost eight-fold, which is a bargain of sorts compared to a nearby plot of land going for $250 million that is only 100 acres and completely undeveloped or cleared.

Both of the properties are listed by Hilton & Hyland, the real estate firm owned by Paris's dad Rick Hilton.

Allen certainly does not need the money, with a net worth of approximately $22 billion and a real estate portfolio that is worth well over one-billion dollars. 

Windows to the world: Paul Allen has put the 122 acres of land he purchased for $20 million in 1997 (above) on the market for $150 million, despite razing the main home and all structures three years after the sale

Windows to the world: Paul Allen has put the 122 acres of land he purchased for $20 million in 1997 (above) on the market for $150 million, despite razing the main home and all structures three years after the sale

Excell-ent work: The property is located in Beverly Hills and Allen has worked on the mile-long driveway the leads through the property and terraced the lawns (property before the grass was in above)

Excell-ent work: The property is located in Beverly Hills and Allen has worked on the mile-long driveway the leads through the property and terraced the lawns (property before the grass was in above)

La La Land: The home looks out over the smog-soaked city of Los Angeles, where everyone is sitting in traffic all the time (above)

La La Land: The home looks out over the smog-soaked city of Los Angeles, where everyone is sitting in traffic all the time (above)

Fertile valley: These photos show the property at its peak, and not during a severe drought like those that have hit California in recent months (above)

Fertile valley: These photos show the property at its peak, and not during a severe drought like those that have hit California in recent months (above)

Macrosmart: Allen and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (above left in 1977) met in grade school and are both now billionaires 

Macrosmart: Allen and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (above left in 1977) met in grade school and are both now billionaires 

The 122-acre property, named The Enchanted Hill by its first owners, was built in 1925 by legendary silent film stars Marian Seldes and Fred Thompson.

The couple owned just 22 acres and used the property to house their stable of 12 horses and a massive 10,000-square-foot main home.

Their dream home quickly became a haunted house, however, in 1928 when Thompson stepped on a nail one day and within three weeks had died at the age of 38 - on Christmas day.  

Seldes listed the home within weeks and it sold a few months later for $580,000 to Lejeune Barnes, a Texas oil magnate who only held on to the property for 16 years before selling to Paul Kollsman.

The German-American inventor is one of the most successful inventors in history, having patented the barometer and most of the instruments used in air travel.

It was Kollsman who turned the estate into the property it is today, leaving the 10,000-square-foot home and 12 acres of gardens across the property untouched - expanding the size with the purchase of an additional 100 acres of land.

Six years after purchasing the home, another tragedy occurred when Kollsman's wife Julie Dorothea Baronin von Bodenhausen, better known as Luli Deste,  passed away at the age of 49, just seven years after the two married.

Kollsman remarried and it was his widow Eva who sold he property to Allen.

When Allen decided to forego the massive homes on the property he elected to terrace multiple plots, giving the land an appearance similar to a golf course.

St Tropez in San Fernando: The 122-acre property, named The Enchanted Hill by its first owners, was built in 1925 (above) by legendary silent film stars Marian Seldes and Fred Thompson

St Tropez in San Fernando: The 122-acre property, named The Enchanted Hill by its first owners, was built in 1925 (above) by legendary silent film stars Marian Seldes and Fred Thompson

Cursed: Thompson died three years later, and the wife of the third owner also died suddenly just a few years after moving into the home, which Allen razed in 2000 to build one or two 50,000 sq. ft structures

Cursed: Thompson died three years later, and the wife of the third owner also died suddenly just a few years after moving into the home, which Allen razed in 2000 to build one or two 50,000 sq. ft structures

Squad: Allen, 65, certainly does not need the money, with a net worth of approximately $22 billion and a real estate portfolio that is worth well over one-billion dollars thanks to founding Microsoft with Bill Gates (Gina Gershon and Allen with Dave Stewart in 1998)

Squad: Allen, 65, certainly does not need the money, with a net worth of approximately $22 billion and a real estate portfolio that is worth well over one-billion dollars thanks to founding Microsoft with Bill Gates (Gina Gershon and Allen with Dave Stewart in 1998)

Laura Harring and Paul Allen
Paul Allen and a friend

Ladies on the arm: Allen, who has never married, is pictured with Mulholland Drive actress Laura Harring in 2005 at Cannes (left); with a lady friend this year in Cannes (right)

Serving up Serbian: Monica Seles and Allen at the 2003 AMfAR Gala at the Cannes Film Festival (above) in France

Serving up Serbian: Monica Seles and Allen at the 2003 AMfAR Gala at the Cannes Film Festival (above) in France

The listing stresses the property's close proximity to the Beverly Hills Hotel and Rodeo Drive as the first key point, before stating: 'Enter through the main security gates, gradually ascending a mile long drive past four flat lots situated privately at various sites along the way and finally arriving at the four acre main estate site. 

'Each lot is uniquely positioned to take advantage of city, ocean, sweeping mountain or canyon views in the most private and tranquil setting imaginable. With access points at each end of the property, The Enchanted Hill affords limitless possibilities to create a unique compound. 

'Build the Main Residence at the top of the hill and utilize the four additional estate sites for multiple Guest Houses, a state-of-the-art Fitness and Wellness Center and Spa, an Entertainment Complex, a Sports Arena, world-class Equestrian facilities, The Enchanted Hill Vineyard & Winery, and private hiking trails all spread over this unprecedented setting.'

It is unclear who might purchase the property, especially in Los Angeles, where massive estates like The Manor, Chartwell and Billionaire are all still sitting on the market over a year after being listed.

They are also all listed at over $150 million, meaning they would break sale records if sold, as would Allen's land.

Here it goes: 'Enter through the main security gates, gradually ascending a mile long drive past four flat lots situated privately at various sites along the way and finally arriving at the four acre main estate site'

Here it goes: 'Enter through the main security gates, gradually ascending a mile long drive past four flat lots situated privately at various sites along the way and finally arriving at the four acre main estate site'

Twist and turn: 'Each lot is uniquely positioned to take advantage of city, ocean, sweeping mountain or canyon views in the most private and tranquil setting imaginable.'

Twist and turn: 'Each lot is uniquely positioned to take advantage of city, ocean, sweeping mountain or canyon views in the most private and tranquil setting imaginable.'

Climb e'ry mountain: 'With access points at each end of the property, The Enchanted Hill affords limitless possibilities to create a unique compound'

Climb e'ry mountain: 'With access points at each end of the property, The Enchanted Hill affords limitless possibilities to create a unique compound'

Canyon: 'Build the Main Residence at the top of the hill and utilize the four additional estate sites for multiple Guest Houses, a state-of-the-art Fitness and Wellness Center and Spa, an Entertainment Complex, a Sports Arena, world-class Equestrian facilities, The Enchanted Hill Vineyard & Winery, and private hiking trails all spread over this unprecedented setting'

Canyon: 'Build the Main Residence at the top of the hill and utilize the four additional estate sites for multiple Guest Houses, a state-of-the-art Fitness and Wellness Center and Spa, an Entertainment Complex, a Sports Arena, world-class Equestrian facilities, The Enchanted Hill Vineyard & Winery, and private hiking trails all spread over this unprecedented setting'

Allen has one of the most enviable real estate portfolios in the world, with properties around the globe and at sea thanks to his massive yachts. 

He owns at least 10 properties on Mercer Island near Seattle, Washington, where he was born and first met Bill Gates in grade school, and one island in the San Juan Islands chain.

Allen had owned two islands, but sold one for $8 million in 2013 when he learned how hard it would be to build on the site.  

He also owns a Beverly Hills mansion he bought the same year as Enchanted Hill, a 4,000-acre Idaho ranch, a 22,000 square-foot home near Silicon valley he bought for $27 million in 2013, a $25 million Malibu home he has since sold to Les Moonves for $28 million, and a $7.5 million Thurston Estate in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

And that is just the western holdings.

He also has $39 million of apartment across two floors in a Manhattan apartment building on Central Park, a $30 million mansion in St. Jean Cap-Ferrat in France as well as a pad in London's Holland Park neighborhood.

Lastly, Allen also owns a 414-foot yacht called Octopus as well as the Portland Trail Blazers and the Seattle Seahawks.

Octopus is the 14th biggest yacht in the world and has two helicopter pads, a submarine, a swimming pool, a music studio and even a basketball court.

His second yacht, Tattoosh, is 300-feet long.

Allen has donated over $2 billion to charitable causes over his life and was also revealed to be a big political donor over the weekend, having given $100,000 to Protect The House, a PAC set-up in order to insure Republicans maintain control of Congress. 

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