PLAYBOY MANSION Sold to NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR for $100 Million

The Playboy Mansion, that marvelous and mysteriously decadent domicile of Playboy Magazine founder and Playboy Enterprises chief creative officer Hugh Hefner, has finally been sold after being offered last January. Its final sale price was confirmed at $100 million dollars, half of its original asking price from the beginning of the year.

Hefner’s only condition for the sale of his estate was that he be allowed to continue to reside in it until his death. The property had been under the official ownership of Playboy Enterprises prior to the sale; Hefner was paying his company – and will be paying the new owner – rent.

Business Insider reports that the lucky buyer was 33-year old Daren Metropoulos, former co- CEO of Pabst Brewing Company, principal of the Metropulos & Co private-equity firm through which he co-owns Twinkie manufacturer Hostess Brands, and actual next-door neighbor to Hugh and his mansion since 2009. In fact, he plans to combine the 5-acre property to his own, as the two were originally one parcel of land when it was developed for the first owner in the 1927.

In a statement announcing the completed sale and price, Metropolous commended Hefner for imbuing his home through 45 years with a rich legacy. “The property's heritage is not only that of a famous address; it is a true masterpiece in design,” he said. Metropolous made his bid to buy the estate last June.

The Playboy Mansion was both Hefner’s full-time residence (after moving out of the original mansion in Chicago, which has been replaced by a condo) and office since 1971, and became famous for his lavish evening parties with invited celebrity guests and his Playboy Playmate models, toeing the Playboy Magazine’s promotion of a sexually free lifestyle. The main building has seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, home theater with classic pipe organ, gym, and a Prohibition-era wine cellar with secret door. The grounds feature a tennis/basketball court, koi pond, zoos and aviaries, orchards and woodedarea, and a swimming pool complex featuring an artificial grotto.

Metropolous & Co, which Daren co-manages with his father Dean, came into public attention in 2013 when they joined forces with fellow private-equity firm Apollo Global Management to buy Hostess Brands in order to save them from bankruptcy.

"I feel fortunate and privileged to now own a one-of- a-kind piece of history and art." said Metropoulos at the conclusion of his press release. "I look forward to eventually rejoining the two estates and enjoying this beautiful property as my private residence for years to come."

Photo Credit to www.theagencyre.com