Mansion Global
Back to search results

Buyer Eyes Former Home of Hollywood’s ‘Princess’

Edie Goetz's 4.5-acre estate is being sold as two properties: For $45 million and $37 million

Save

A serious buyer has expressed interest in the grand estate of late Hollywood socialite Edie Goetz, who made her vast mansion a gathering place for Golden Age stars from Frank Sinatra to Elizabeth Taylor, Mansion Global has learned.

Goetz was the eldest daughter of Louis B. Mayer, the founder of MGM, and the wife of Bill Goetz, co-founder of 20th Century Fox. After she passed away in 1987, at the age of 82, The Los Angeles Times described Goetz as the princess of Hollywood and her life a "fantasy."

More:Click to Read Cheryl Hines and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. List $6.45M Malibu Hideaway

The expansive 4.5-acre estate sits on Delfern Drive, a coveted address in Holmby Hills; Tom Ford recently dropped $39 million for Betsy Bloomingdale’s former home on the same street.

The Goetz estate, which property records show is currently owned by Gary Wilson, former chairman of Northwest Airlines and chief financial officer of Walt Disney Company, hit the market for the first time in 25 years in October for $79 million. It was broken up into two two-acre properties that the seller re-listed separately on Thursday with Jeff Hyland, president of Hilton & Hyland.

The main house is now asking $45 million, and a parcel including guesthouses and ample grounds is selling for $37 million. Dividing the estate has created a larger market and already attracted an offer for the property with the main house, Mr. Hyland said Friday.

Still, Mr. Hyland is rooting to keep the original property intact. "I’m strongly suggesting that we keep the estate together," he said.  

After all, it’s one of the greatest estates in the area, he said.

In the 1950s and ‘60s, the Goetzes were the reigning socialites of the Hill, and their 11-bedroom, nine bathroom Georgian revival mansion their palace.

"The highest accolade for someone coming into this town was to be invited to the Goetzes," Oscar-winning director Billy Wilder once said. "They had the best food, the best people and the best things on the walls."

Goetz’s famous parties also attracted the praise of actor Cary Grant, who said she "had the best tables because she had the best guests."

On a number of occasions, Goetz made her estate a refuge for troubled A-listers. Elizabeth Taylor fled to the house after her first breakup with Richard Burton, according to the listing.  

Her extensive modern art collection also helped Goetz and her home become the epicenter of social life. After her death, Christie’s auctioned off dozens of works from the Goetz collection, including "Motherhood" by Pablo Picasso, which sold for $24 million—reportedly the highest price ever paid for a work by that artist at the time, in 1988.

More:Click to Read Los Angeles Looks to Ban Most Real-Estate Development

The main home was built in 1938, according to the listing, and designed by starchitect Gordon B. Kaufmann, whose work includes the historic Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills and The Los Angeles Times building.

The property hit the market for the first time just after Goetz’s death and sold in 1990 to Mr. Wilson, property records show.

Mr. Wilson is looking to sell the iconic property and downsize now that his son has gone off to college, Mr. Hyland said.

In total, the undivided property has three guest houses, two swimming pools, a secluded tennis court, a funicular and an array of unusual trees that give the property an "arboretum-like feel," according to the listing.