Ron Burkle doubles up on Bob Hope estates with purchase of comic’s Toluca Lake compound
Los Angeles businessman Ron Burkle has doubled down on Bob Hope estates, buying the late comic’s longtime Toluca Lake compound for $15 million.
Two years ago, the billionaire paid $13 million for a modernist home in Palm Springs that was designed and built by architect John Lautner for Hope and his wife, Dolores, The Times previously reported.
The Toluca Lake estate was originally designed for the Hopes in English Traditional style by architect Robert Finkelhor. In the mid-1950s, the couple wanted a more contemporary style and commissioned John Elgin Woolf to remodel and update the house.
The property is comprised of multiple parcels totalling a little over five acres. The 14,876-square-foot house, which Burkle intends to restore, is accompanied by a two-bedroom guesthouse and separate staff quarters and offices. The structures combine to offer eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms.
A swimming pool, a one-hole golf course, mature trees, rose gardens and a large expanse of grass also lie within the grounds. An indoor swimming pool and spa sits adjacent to the guesthouse.
Bob Hope, who died in 2003 at 100, had a prolific career as a comic actor, singer and dancer, appearing in scores of films that included the “Road” series with Bing Crosby. He won five honorary Oscars and one humanitarian award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. His wife, Dolores, died four years ago at 102.
Burkle, 65, built his fortune buying and selling supermarket chains such as Ralphs, Fred Meyer Inc. and Food4Less. He has an estimated net worth of $2.3 billion, according to Forbes.
An architectural connoisseur, he also owns the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Ennis House in Los Feliz, which he purchased in 2011 for about $4.5 million.
Craig Strong of Pacific Union International had the listing.
Twitter: @LATHotProperty
