It’s been a year and a half since magazine magnate Hugh Hefner passed away.
And now, one of his conjugal properties with last wife Crystal Harris has been listed for sale. Is his young wife trying to sell the iconic Playboy mansion Hefner lived in until his death?
Parting With A Gift
Apparently not. The property in question is a $5 million Hollywood Hills home Hefner gifted his wife after they married in 2012.
The 6,471-square-feet ‘modern architectural masterpiece’ was initially listed by Harris with a $7.2 million price tag. She recently relisted it again after lowering her asking price down to $5 million in hopes of finally attracting a new owner. If bought at this price, Hefner’s widow wouldn’t make a profit off the sale.
Described by realtors as a home tailor-made for entertaining, the house has its own home theater and infinity pool surrounded by its very own little oasis in the backyard.
It also features four bedrooms and four full bathrooms which embodies the high-end luxury that Hefner and his brand were known for in their heydays.
New Owner
Surprisingly, the Playboy mansion hasn’t been a property of Hefner’s estate or that of the Playboy Enterprises for quite a while.
In fact, Hefner was only a tenant in the mansion at the time of his death.
The property is currently owned by Daren Metropoulos, a billionaire entrepreneur who specializes in reinventing hipster brands like Hostess and Pabst Blue Ribbon. The transfer of ownership happened in 2016, a year before Hefner died.
The Gothic-Tudor style mansion became popular in the 1970s because of the lavish parties that Hefner used to throw in it. It was originally bought by the company in 1971 from Louis D. Statham, a wealthy engineer, upon the insistence of Hefner’s then-girlfriend Barbie Benton.
Life After Hugh
Harris and Hefner’s May-December romance has often been the topic of criticism in the media.
The couple has a whopping 60-year age difference marrying when Harris was just 24 and Hefner already 84 in 2010.
After the 91-year-old Hefner died in 2017, Harris assumed the position of vice president at the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation and started efforts to keep her late husband’s legacy alive.
She has also seemed to delve into real estate and has started selling two of the five properties she has in her mini-empire. According to sources, she is planning to eventually sell all of these to restart her life and begin new personal projects.