Retired MLB slugger Barry Bonds just hit it out of the (Beverly) Park!
The controversial home run king sold his massive Tuscan-inspired pad in the ultra-fancy Beverly Park area of Beverly Hills for $22 million. Property records show the deal closed on March 5, 2014 – 14 months after Bonds put the incredible estate up to bat for $25 million.
Inside sources say he had his eye on that initial $25 million list price for two reasons. First – and most importantly – he’d make an insane profit, considering he spent $8.7 million for the house in 2002. Secondly, Bonds gave the Mediterranean stunner a $25M price tag as an homage to his former jersey number – 25, which he considers to be his lucky number.
Lucky or not to him, it wasn’t the number buyers were willing to pay for the 1.85 acre, seven-bedroom, 13-bathroom manse. He price-chopped the home to $23.5M in December 2013 and finally signed a contract with a buyer at $22 million.
Bond’s just-sold estate was a faux Tuscan villa in the heart of Los Angeles’s most desirable area. Fully renovated, Bonds added 30-ft soaring ceilings in the grand entry foyer, gorgeous hand-painted Trompe L’oeil murals, and Venetian plaster throughout. The home boasts over 17,000 square feet of living space and unparalleled California living.
Outside, the grounds feature over 2,000 square feet of spacious loggias, a pool and cabana, and 2-story guest house.
Love him or hate him – there’s no in between – Barry Bonds is one of the biggest sports characters of the last two decades. Rocketing to superstardom in Pittsburgh and helping make a forlorn franchise a regular in the playoffs while winning his first league MVP award, Bonds made it clear he had all the tools to become one of the greats. He took his talents back to Northern California in 1993, where he was born and raised, to play for the San Francisco Giants and resurrected that franchise while winning 6 additional MVP awards (4 in a row at one point), leading the team to the World Series in 2002, and cementing his place in baseball history. Of course, this was before the BALCO scandal and perjury investigation which has cast a shadow over Bonds’ mountain of accomplishments to the chagrin of some and the delight of others.
