This $33 Million Villa Sits in One of the Most Coveted Enclaves of Beverly Hills
The Trousdale Estates neighborhood in Beverly Hills, which climbs into the mountains that rise above Sunset Boulevard, is renowned among architecture buffs and real estate aficionados as a celeb-favored mecca of low-slung and primarily one-story midcentury-era homes designed by who’s who of leading architects from the time, including A. Quincy Jones, Harold Levitt, Rex Lotery, and the duo of Buff & Hensman. Indeed, the neighborhood is important enough that historian Steven M. Price wrote a gorgeous and witty coffee table tome about the 410-acre neighborhood’s architectural and pop-culture history.
The sedate hillside enclave, which employs a private (and armed!) security force that patrols the neighborhood 24 hours a day, is also, though less famously, home to a fair number of residences built in a broad variety of architectural styles. To wit: a stately and lavishly dressed Mediterranean-inspired villa that’s recently come to market with Shawn Shirdel of Sotheby’s International Realty–Beverly Hills Brokerage for $33 million.
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The nearly 13,500-square-foot home, completed in 1986, is one of the last two-story homes to be built in the neighborhood. That’s because the following year, the so-called Trousdale Ordinance was implemented, which, among other things, was designed to protect the neighborhood’s famously panoramic views from being impeded by neighboring homes.
The nine-bedroom, 12-bathroom estate last changed hands in 1997, when it was acquired for an unrecorded amount by Leon Rudyak, who was once reported in the L.A. Times to own a chain of video stores in Russia, and his wife Mila. Tax records indicate the home is still in the hands of the late businessman’s heirs. Online records also reveal the opulent residence has been offered as a rental on and off since at least 2017; in addition to being for sale, the house is also currently up for temporary grabs at $65,000 per month.
All but invisible from the street behind a towering wall of trees, the slightly more than one-acre spread is secured behind wrought-iron gates that swing open to a tiled driveway that swoops up to a spacious motor court and three-car garage. Beyond the portico entry, the double-height foyer’s grand staircase and inlaid marble floor are bathed in light that pours through a massive skylight.
Inlaid parquet flooring is an eye-catching highlight in the vast living room, which also has French doors that open to the gardens, as well as in the library, which is wrapped in lustrous wood paneling. The marble-floored formal dining room will easily accommodate ten or twelve, and elsewhere, the kitchen sports elaborately embellished pale-blue cabinetry, the family room showcases a flamboyantly carved fireplace, and the wine cellar is climate-controlled.
Mature trees and dense foliage ensure privacy from the neighbors in the lushly planted backyard, which includes a swimming pool and spa, a two-story poolside guesthouse, and a tennis court that’s complete with a columned viewing pergola. The estate is enhanced by security cameras, a surround-sound system, and an array of top-of-the-line rooftop solar panels.
Among the many entertainment industry stars who have at one time or another made their home in the fabled neighborhood are Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Jennifer Aniston, Elton John, Jane Fonda, Billie Dee Williams, and Simon Cowell. David Spade sold his midcentury home on Wallace Ridge last year for $19.5 million, and Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber sold their home on Loma Vista the year before for $13.5 million.
Click here for all the photos of 407 Robert Lane.
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