Epic Beverly Hills mansion has epic price tag: $165 million

LOS ANGELES — The 1920s-era Beverly Hills mansion of William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies was put on the market Monday for $165 million, making it the nation's most expensive residential listing.

The pink stucco, H-shaped estate, dubbed "Beverly House" by the late newspaper magnate, spreads across 6.5 acres north of Sunset Boulevard. It has just about everything a billionaire could want, including three pools, 29 bedrooms, a state-of-the-art movie theater and even a disco.

The compound boasts six residences: four houses, an apartment and a cottage for the security staff.

"This is the kind of home that comes on the market once in a generation," said Jeff Hyland, a Beverly Hills broker and the author of "The Estates of Beverly Hills."

The estate was used in the film "The Godfather," including the scene in which a horse's head is found in a movie producer's bed.

The seller, attorney-investor Leonard M. Ross, bought the property in 1976 and is seeking "a lifestyle change," said his real-estate broker, Stephen Shapiro.

The asking price surpasses the $155 million being sought by developers of an estate in Montana and the $135 million price of an Aspen, Colo., compound being sold by Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia.

In the past year, six U.S. residences have come on the market with nine-digit price tags, according to Rick Goodwin, publisher of Ultimate Homes magazine, an annual compendium of the world's hottest properties.

Yet, so far, no U.S. house has sold for more than $100 million. The record home sale remains the $94 million paid by former telecom mogul Gary Winnick for a Bel-Air estate in 2001.