Science

Hefner sells Playboy Mansion to billionaire neighbour Twinkies chief

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LOS ANGELES: The Playboy Mansion, the legendary party house where Hollywood’s elite cavorted with scantily-clad “bunnies”, is being sold to the billionaire Twinkies owner who lives next door, a spokesman said Monday.

This file photo taken on May 11, 2016 shows the swimming pool at the Playboy Mansion on in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California. ─ AFP
This file photo taken on May 11, 2016 shows the swimming pool at the Playboy Mansion on in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California. ─ AFP

Hugh Hefner, the 90-year-old owner of the Holmby Hills estate in southern California and founder of Playboy Magazine, will be permitted to continue living there for the rest of his life.

The buyer is Daren Metropoulos, a 32-year-old business tycoon who lives on the property next door to the mansion, which he bought from Hefner in 2009 for $18 million.

In this May 1, 1997, file photo, Victoria Silvstedt poses with her 1997 Porsche Boxter in front of the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif., before a lunch reception to announce her as the 1997 Playboy Playmate of the Year. ─ AFP
In this May 1, 1997, file photo, Victoria Silvstedt poses with her 1997 Porsche Boxter in front of the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif., before a lunch reception to announce her as the 1997 Playboy Playmate of the Year. ─ AFP

“We can confirm that the Playboy Mansion is in escrow with Daren Metropoulos as the buyer,” a Playboy spokesman told AFP. “Due to confidentiality restrictions, we are not able to comment on any specifics, including what contingencies need to be cleared to close the sale.”

Metropoulos is a principal at private-equity firm Metropoulos and Co., which co-owns Hostess Brands, the maker of Twinkies, an iconic American snack.

This file photo taken on May 11, 2016 shows a peacock walking across the lawn at the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California. ─ AFP
This file photo taken on May 11, 2016 shows a peacock walking across the lawn at the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California. ─ AFP

He intends to connect the two estates into a combined 7.3-acre compound once Hefner dies, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The paper quoted Metropoulos as saying the mansion’s heritage “transcends its celebrity” and that “to have the opportunity to serve as its steward would be a true privilege”. He declined to disclose the purchase price, although the estate was valued at $200m when Playboy Enterprises put it up for sale earlier this year.

Built in 1927 and bought by Hefner for $1m in 1971, the property was emblematic of Hollywood’s excess, hosting its infamous pool parties with a lingerie-only dress code for the female guests who cavorted in the caved grotto.

In this Wednesday, May 11, 2016 file photo, Eugena Washington, Playmate of the Year, poses at Playboy
In this Wednesday, May 11, 2016 file photo, Eugena Washington, Playmate of the Year, poses at Playboy’s 2016 Playmate of the Year Announcement held at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. ─ AFP

Elvis reportedly slept with eight Playmates at once at the 12-bedroom stately home, while John Lennon once burned a Matisse original with a cigarette.

The sale comes soon after the magazine’s recent relaunch as a mainstream publication with no full-frontal nudity, and with the parent company on sale for an estimated $500m.

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