A Malibu mansion once owned by supermodel Cindy Crawford changed hands for $70.4 million in 2022, four years after she and her husband, Rande Gerber, sold it for $45 million. The 3.18-acre property, featuring ocean views, a swimming pool, a tennis court and a private path to the beach, was purchased by reality television star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian after its owners initially listed it for $99.5 million. According to Architectural Digest and Realtor.com, the asking price was subsequently reduced to $89.75 million before the sale.
From Crawford’s Malibu compound to Kardashian’s property portfolio
The property is located in the Encinal Bluffs neighbourhood of Malibu, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Its previous owners, Crawford and Gerber, acquired a larger, two-parcel property in 2015 for a reported $50.5 million. They later separated the holdings, retaining one parcel and selling the lot containing the main residence to investor Adam Weiss and his wife, actor Barret Swatek, in 2018 for $45 million, the Los Angeles Times reported.The distinction matters because the $45 million transaction did not include the couple’s entire original holding. The newspaper clarified that the neighbouring parcel, measuring about 2.75 acres, was excluded from the sale. The property later bought by Kardashian was described by Architectural Digest as a 3.18-acre lot.Weiss, a retired hedge fund executive, and Swatek, known for her role in the television series ‘Yellowstone’, owned the mansion for around four years before putting it back on the market in March 2022. They initially sought $99.5 million, more than double the amount they had paid for it. The price was lowered to $89.75 million in July. Kardashian eventually bought the property through an off-market transaction that closed in September 2022 for $70.4 million, according to *Architectural Digest*. The final price was $29.1 million below the original asking price.
A 1944 home expanded into a 7,450-square-foot mansion
The mansion was originally built in 1944 and underwent renovations and an expansion under Weiss and Swatek. According to Realtor.com, the work increased the home’s size from 5,254 square feet to 7,450 square feet. The Mediterranean-style residence has four bedrooms and five-and-a-half bathrooms, according to Architectural Digest. Its design emphasises the coastal setting, with large sliding glass doors opening onto wraparound decks and patios. The elevated position provides views across the ocean and nearby El Sol Beach.The main living areas follow an open-plan layout, while the primary suite includes two bathrooms and a walk-in closet. The home also has a gym with a vaulted ceiling, offering a dedicated space for exercise without leaving the property. Outdoor amenities include a swimming pool, a tennis court, a poolside cabana with an outdoor fireplace, and a separate fire-pit area and spa. The surrounding grounds feature gardens and pathways, while a private route leads down towards a secluded stretch of beach. The combination of indoor and outdoor spaces was a prominent feature in property descriptions published when the home went on the market and when Kardashian’s purchase became public.
A steep asking price, followed by a lower sale
The mansion’s 2022 listing attracted attention because of the gap between the owners’ initial expectations and the eventual transaction. The $99.5 million asking price was reduced by nearly $10 million before the property went under contract. Kardashian’s $70.4 million purchase price was lower still, although it remained substantially above the $45 million paid by Weiss and Swatek in 2018.The difference between the two sale prices amounts to $25.4 million. That figure represents the increase in the property’s reported transaction price between 2018 and 2022, rather than a confirmed profit for either set of owners. It does not account for renovation expenses, taxes, transaction costs or other ownership costs.The property’s size had also changed during that period: the home was expanded from 5,254 to 7,450 square feet, according to Realtor.com. That work, along with the home’s coastal location and amenities, formed part of the property’s appeal, although the available reports do not establish how much each factor contributed to the final price.When the transaction was reported in September 2022, Architectural Digest described it as the most expensive real estate closing in Malibu and the fourth most expensive in California that year. The magazine also noted that Kardashian’s new neighbours included actor Leonardo DiCaprio and singer Neil Diamond.
