Wilt’s groovy LA house is finally sold to a crypto celebrity – Robb Report

Ryan Lahiff. Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival.Bettman/Getty Images

After years of being on and off the market, a custom Los Angeles spread once owned by late Lakers basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain has finally sold for less than $9.7 million on the bounce. And while this amount is much lower than the nearly $19 million that current owner Dmitri Novikov originally wanted, Russian-born investors in early 2008 bought television writers George Meyer and Maria That's about $3 million more than what Semple paid for the location.

Records show that the discount-minded buyer who captured brutal style spreads in off-market trades was prominent crypto entrepreneur Eric Voorhees. The Bitcoin pioneer founded BitInstant in 2011, a cryptocurrency exchange where over 1 million users can exchange between different cryptocurrencies without creating an account. Founded ShapeShift and served as CEO. According to BitKan, his net worth as of August 2023 is estimated at $30 million.

As for Voorhees' new excavation site, Chamberlain, affectionately known to fans as “The Big Dipper,” bought the $150,000 property in the rugged mountains above Bel Air more than 50 years ago and was commissioned by noted architect David -Constructed with the cooperation of Tenneson Rich. to design a $1.5 million luxury bachelor pad known as the “Ursa Major.” The 1970s property was then extensively renovated by Novikov in 2008, adding a kitchen and a projection room and guest bedroom on the lower floor.

Nestled in a secluded cul-de-sac, the property sits on a gated 2.5-acre hilltop parcel that served as a Nike anti-aircraft missile base during the Cold War, and the redwood, glass-and-stone building includes approximately 9,400 The unit includes five bedrooms and eight bathrooms. Square feet of living space. In addition to the aforementioned projection room, there are also luxury amenities such as a billiards room, gym with sauna, and glass walls with panoramic views of the mountains, sea, and reservoir.

Guests are greeted by a stone walkway, walk over a waterway, and exit through a massive 2,000-pound front door. From there, you'll see a great room soaring beneath a 40-foot cathedral ceiling and a sunken conversation pit heated by a wood-burning fireplace with a stone chimney. There is also a sophisticatedly designed gourmet kitchen with high-end stainless steel appliances and a breakfast nook.

A “floating” staircase leads to the second floor, and the master retreat spans the entire second floor. Outside, there is a large pool on the lushly landscaped grounds, which, according to property information, “envelops the house and gives the impression of floating on a lake.'' Plenty of spots to relax and entertain outdoors, plus a garage for 10+ vehicles, a motor court, and a separate climate-controlled storage building.

Chamberlain played five seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1960s and 1970s, and was an integral part of the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, considered one of the best teams in NBA history. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in his 1978 year and was later selected to his NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Chamberlain died of heart failure at his home in Bel Air in 1999 at the age of 63. As for Voorhees, he also owns an acre of land in the town of Dillon, Colorado, which he purchased in late 1985 for $260,000.

The listing was held by Bobby Syed of Coldwell Banker Realty. Thomas Friedman of Sunset Lending & Realty represented the buyer.

Click here to see more photos of Wilt Chamberlain's home.