A 40-Year-Old Investor Collects Luxury Homes. His Latest Addition: a $148 Million Palm Beach Estate
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The owner of Los Angeles’ former Playboy Mansion has paid $148 million for a new play space: an oceanfront estate in Palm Beach, Fla.
Forty-year-old investor Daren Metropoulos paid all cash in an off-market deal for the home, which was designed around 1919 by noted architect Addison Mizner, a spokesperson for Metropoulos said. The seller of the roughly 3.2-acre property was the family of the late Canadian businessman William Pencer, who died in 2021, records show.
In a statement, Metropoulos said the property is one of Palm Beach’s “most storied architectural treasures.”
“I am pleased to carry on the tradition of conserving this gem as a true sanctuary and ensuring its classic charm and sophistication continues to endure,” he said.
The Pencer family couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. William and his wife, Ida Pencer, purchased the home for $12.1 million in 2003, property records show.
Known as Casa Amado, the roughly 23,000-square-foot, Mediterranean Revival-style house has 10 bedrooms, a gym and a movie room, according to Metropoulos’ spokesperson. Outside, the property has about 225 feet of ocean frontage with a beach cabana, pool, pool cabana and tennis court.
The house was built for Charles A. Munn, an entrepreneur and prominent member of Palm Beach society, in a similar style to his brother’s house next door, which was also designed by Mizner, according to the 2020 book “An Illustrated History of Palm Beach.”
The Pencers spent years renovating the property, but in 2007 the house was damaged by fire after being struck by lightning, according to court documents related to a subsequent insurance claim. Around 2008, the Pencers restored the property again.
Jim McCann of Premier Estate Properties represented the seller. Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate represented the buyer.
Metropoulos is a principal at private-equity firm Metropoulos & Co. Started by his father, C. Dean Metropoulos, the firm has invested in brands including Hostess, Pabst Brewing and Utz. The younger Metropoulos is a co-owner of BlueTriton Brands, a bottled-water company based in Stamford, Conn.
He is also an avid collector of luxury homes in New York City, Miami Beach, Hawaii and Martha’s Vineyard. In 2016, he bought the Playboy Mansion for $100 million, a then-record sum for L.A. In 2018, Metropoulos was a producer on Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” for which several scenes were shot at the mansion. He has since renovated the property extensively.
With extremely limited inventory, Palm Beach real-estate values have skyrocketed over the past few years. Recent big-ticket home sales include Australian businessman Michael Dorrell’s purchase of Tarpon Island, a roughly 2.3-acre private island, for $150 million in May.
The Palm Beach sales record was set last year, when car dealership owner Michael Cantanucci and his wife, Kimberly Cantanucci, paid $170 million for a nearly 1.6-acre estate on North County Road.
Write to E.B. Solomont at [email protected]