Peter Thiel buys troubled Bel-Air mega-mansion for $130 million

Sept. 30, 2026 1:35 PM PT Casa Encantada — a 40,000-square-foot Bel-Air mega-mansion considered one of L.A.’s most iconic estates — has a new owner: Peter Thiel.The billionaire venture capitalist and PayPal co-founder quietly bought the property through a limited liability company at a foreclosure auction in Pomona in July, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the sale.At $130 million, it’s one of the priciest home sales ever in Los Angeles — but perhaps a bargain, depending on how you look at it. The former owner, late businessman Gary Winnick, wanted $225 million for the property in 2019 and $250 million in 2023.Winnick never found a buyer and died in 2023, leaving a trail of debt in his wake. Records show the Bel-Air estate was used as collateral to pay off a loan from the CIM Group, and Winnick’s family relisted the home for $170 million in April before it was auctioned off to the highest bidder three months later.The house itself serves as a time capsule of Old Hollywood glitz and glamour, with sprawling gardens and terraced lawns perched on 8.4 acres overlooking the Bel-Air Country Club. It was built in 1938 by James Dolena, a Russian-born architect who ...