Invest in your own Billion Dollar Beverly Hill

For those overseas property investors with a billion dollar budget there is a chance to buy your own Beverly Hill.

A 157-acre flat hilltop sitting above Beverly Hills is hitting the market with a huge billion dollar price tag.

At nearly twice the size of Disneyland, the undeveloped estate enjoys views of downtown Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean and is the most expensive piece of real estate ever in Los Angeles and possibly the world.

The highest price ever paid in the world for a private property is thought to be the $300 million paid by a Saudi prince for a property in France, but this billion dollar cost would more than treble that.

Once owned by an Iranian princess, the property was purchased by Mark Hughes, the founder of Herbalife in 1997 for a then Southern Californian record price of £8 million.

Plans to develop the estate stopped when Hughes died in 2000 and the property is now owned by Secured Capital Partners who bought it this year and have transformed ‘The Mountain’ with vital utilities, electricity, road work, and fibre optics.

This includes an advanced storm drain system and water retention basin; fire hydrant booster system; and a backup generator that can power 300,000 square feet of buildings during a citywide power outage.

The property, newly branded ‘The Mountain’, includes 17 huge parcels of land ranging from 2.7 to 12.2 acres, all zoned and ready for residential building.

The buyer will also be permitted to build dwellings up to 48 feet tall (12 feet higher than current codes) thanks to a vested grandfather clause.

The agency charged with selling the billion dollar development opportunity is Pacific Union Real Estate, whose representative Aaron Kirman said: ‘If the buyer wants to build a theme park as massive as Disneyland, they can, with over 100 acres to spare. You can truly create your own kingdom.’

Mr Kirman believes that the most likely buyer of the billion dollar property will be an overseas property investor and is planning to fly around the world meeting with billionaires, and is even considering a Bedouin style tent to allow qualified potential purchasers to stay overnight at the estate.

Time to check down the back of those sofas. You’re going to need every penny you can lay your hands on to purchase this one.