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Peter Thiel, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal and prominent venture capitalist, has emerged as the new owner of Casa Encantada, one of Bel Air’s most iconic estates. The 40,000-square-foot mansion, steeped in Los Angeles history, was acquired by Thiel for $130 million following a foreclosure auction earlier this year.
Casa Encantada has a storied past with a lineup of notable owners. The estate was famously purchased in 1950 by Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton Hotels chain, for $225,000-equivalent to roughly $3.1 million today.
Hilton lived in the home until his death in 1979 and was the one who gave it the name Casa Encantada. In his autobiography, he described an immediate connection with the property, calling it “love at first sight.”
Hilton preserved the home’s original decor, which had been carefully curated by a previous owner, Hilda Boldt Weber.
Weber originally commissioned the mansion in 1936 after acquiring 9.5 acres of prime Bel Air hillside for $100,000 during the Great Depression. Despite the challenging economic times, she spared no expense, investing over $2 million (around $47.5 million today) in construction and lavish decorations. Yet, after just a decade, Weber put the home on the market for $1.5 million-less than her initial investment.
The estate’s ownership continued to reflect dramatic shifts in value. In 1980, billionaire David Murdock bought Casa Encantada for $12.4 million, setting a national residential sales record.
Two decades later, in 2000, he sold it to Gary and Karen Winnick for $94 million, breaking another record. After Gary Winnick’s death in 2023, Karen listed the property at $250 million.
However, financial troubles tied to Gary Winnick led to foreclosure after defaulting on over $150 million in loans, paving the way for Thiel’s acquisition at nearly half the asking price.
Thiel’s purchase price of $130 million is notably less, in today’s dollars, than what the Winnicks paid more than two decades ago, underscoring the volatile nature of owning such a landmark estate. While past owners have experienced both triumph and hardship-Weber’s financial loss, Hilton’s decades of residence, and the recent foreclosure-the future of Casa Encantada under Thiel’s ownership remains to be seen.