Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with girlfriend Lauren Sanchez at an event in Mumbai, India last month. Photo: AFP
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with girlfriend Lauren Sanchez at an event in Mumbai, India last month. Photo: AFP
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with girlfriend Lauren Sanchez at an event in Mumbai, India last month. Photo: AFP
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with girlfriend Lauren Sanchez at an event in Mumbai, India last month. Photo: AFP

Jeff Bezos buys Beverly Hills mansion for a record $165m


Nada El Sawy
  • English
  • Arabic

Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person, reportedly paid $165 million (Dh606m) for a nine-acre historic Beverly Hills mansion, setting a record for a Los Angeles-area home.

Mr Bezos bought the property from billionaire DreamWorks co-founder David Geffen, who had bought it for $47.5m in 1990, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The estate was designed for the late Hollywood film titan Jack Warner – of Warner Brothers fame – in the 1930s. A 1992 Architectural Digest article described it as "the archetypal studio mogul's estate" with its 1,260-square-metre Georgian-style mansion, expansive terraces and gardens, tennis court, swimming pool, two guesthouses and a nine-hole golf course.

The purchase surpasses the previous Los Angeles County record set late last year by News Corporation heir Lachlan Murdoch, who paid $150m for the Bel Air estate that had been featured on “The Beverly Hillbillies” TV show.

It is also the second-biggest US transaction recorded, behind Citadel founder Ken Griffin's $238m New York penthouse purchase in January of last year.

In addition to the Warner estate, Bezos Expeditions, an umbrella company that manages Mr Bezos's personal investments, paid $90m for an undeveloped plot of land from the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, the WSJ said. Earlier this year, Mr Bezos purchased three New York apartments in a deal valued at around $80m.

The real estate splurge come as Mr Bezos cashed out 2 million Amazon shares, worth $4.1bn, as part of a pre-arranged trading plan between January 31 and February 6, according to regulatory filings.

Bezos’s real-estate empire already features homes on both US coasts, including a Washington, DC mansion where he recently hosted a party for capital elite including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

Despite his divorce last year, Mr Bezos, 56, is worth an estimated $131.3 billion, according to Forbes.

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Specs – Taycan 4S
Engine: Electric

Transmission: 2-speed auto

Power: 571bhp

Torque: 650Nm

Price: Dh431,800

Specs – Panamera
Engine: 3-litre V6 with 100kW electric motor

Transmission: 2-speed auto

Power: 455bhp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: from Dh431,800

PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

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Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
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Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)

Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)

Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

UK%20record%20temperature
%3Cp%3E38.7C%20(101.7F)%20set%20in%20Cambridge%20in%202019%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How green is the expo nursery?

Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery

An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo

Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery

Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape

The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides

All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality

Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country

Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow

Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site

Green waste is recycled as compost

Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs

Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers

About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer

Main themes of expo is  ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.

Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months

The%20specs
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs

Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 plus rear-mounted electric motor

Power: 843hp at N/A rpm

Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km

On sale: October to December

Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)

Disclaimer

Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5

A little about CVRL

Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.

One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases. 

The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.