Last year, media mogul Patrick Whitesell bought a massive Los Angeles house for $42.9 million, as had been widely rumored. The custom Tuscan-style villa, set behind gates and an exceptionally long driveway on one of Holmby Hills’ most prestigious streets, was listed at nearly $60 million by its seller, local businessman Jack Rimokh. It was picked up by an LLC front for Whitesell, a former talent agent and Endeavor executive chairman who owns Endeavor shares worth $840 million with his business partner Ari Emanuel.
Whitesell isn’t exactly a household name, despite his success in the entertainment industry and apparent wealth. According to casual news followers, the 57-year-old Iowa native is mostly known for his very public split from his first wife Lauren Sanchez and subsequent marriage to Australian model/actress Pia Whitesell, née Miller. (Sanchez is a veteran Los Angeles entertainment reporter and journalist who has now partnered with Jeff Bezos.)
This estate was custom built in 2001 and owned by late Williams-Sonoma CEO W. Howard Lester. It comprises a main mansion and a two-story guesthouse with nearly 20,000 square feet of living space, including five bedrooms, eight full bathrooms, five powder rooms, and additional maid quarters. After Lester’s death in 2010, his widow sold the Los Angeles home for $23 million to Rimokh two years later.
In addition to giving Whitesell’s new Holmby Hills pad a facelift, the couple has also vacated Whitesell’s longtime Beverly Hills estate, which he shared with Sanchez and listed last year for $22 million. The couple is reportedly living in a swanky Malibu oceanfront rental home while they wait for renovations to be completed.
