Sultan to Rule B.H. ‘Island’

The SULTAN of BRUNEI, the Pacific potentate who owns the Beverly Hills Hotel, has purchased the home of Muriel Slatkin, a former owner of the hotel, for $12.5 million in cash, sources say.

A corporate entity took title to the 8,000-square-foot home and contiguous vacant lot, on slightly more than two acres just north of the hotel.

With the purchase, the sultan, reputedly the richest man in the world with an estimated worth of $25 billion, now owns all of the properties adjacent to the 16-acre hotel.

Two years ago, after he purchased the hotel for $185 million, the sultan, known to his friends as “H.H.”--for “His Highness,” bought two houses on two acres behind the hotel for a total of about $10 million.

“So now the sultan owns a complete island in the middle of Beverly Hills,” a source said.

Slatkin had owned the French Regency-style house, with three bedrooms and maid’s quarters, since it was built in 1965.

At the time, she and her now ex-husband, Burton Slatkin, were managing the hotel, which she and her sister owned until they sold it in December, 1986, to a partnership headed by tycoon Marvin Davis. Davis sold the hotel about six months later to the sultan.

The sultan’s representatives initiated the sale of Slatkin’s house, which was never on the market.

“I don’t think the sultan bought it for himself but for his entourage and friends who come to visit,” another source said.

The sultan is still believed to be planning construction of a 40,000- to 50,000-square-foot mansion for himself in the Beverly Hills area.

This was first reported three years ago, when he bought three houses, next door to each other, as tear-downs for an estimated $10 million. The houses are on four acres across the street from actor Jack Lemmon’s home.

Joe Lenzi of Mike Silverman & Associates represented Slatkin, and Bob Ryan of Douglas Properties represented the sultan. None of the brokers could be reached for comment.

Los Angeles Clipper DANNY MANNING has put his Hermosa Beach home on the market at $3.8 million.

He bought the Mediterranean villa two years ago for $2.9 million, still the highest price ever paid for a home in Hermosa.

“He’s selling because he wants to move to the Westside, where all of his buddies live,” a source said. Nina Michaels of RE/MAX Beach Cities Realty has the listing.

The house has five bedrooms and 5 1/2 baths in 6,500 square feet. It has a 12-foot-long bar, a wine cellar, a “volleyball pool,” spa and guest apartment in a separate building.

Situated on a cul-de-sac in the north Hermosa hills section, it also has a panoramic view of the ocean.

KEN MINYARD, of “The Ken and Barkley Company” on KABC Radio, and his wife, Jackie, have purchased a vacation home at Lake Arrowhead.

The 4-year-old house was on the 1990 Lake Arrowhead Home Tour as the “Party House of the Year.” “It’s a wonderful house for entertaining,” said selling agent Ray Lawler of Coldwell Banker/Sky Ridge Realty, Lake Arrowhead.

There are three levels in the three-bedroom, 3,600-square-foot home: a loft, which has a game room with a pool table, popcorn machine and wet bar; a middle level with the main living quarters, and a downstairs with a step-down bar, indoor spa and sauna. The home also has a view of the lake.

The home, which sold for about $500,000, had been listed by Karen Cerwin of Coldwell Banker/Sky Ridge Realty.

The Minyards’ permanent residence is in Century City.

NICK NOLTE, who stars in the upcoming film of Pat Conroy’s bestseller “Prince of Tides” and in the just-released “Cape Fear,” bought the house next door to his Malibu home.

In September, we reported here that Nolte bought a house that he had been renting. However, a source said last week that Nolte “lived on the west side of the house (and) went over there one day, rang the doorbell, met the owner and asked to buy it.”

Nolte bought the 8,000-square-foot home, on two acres, in the $4-million range, including some of the furnishings, other sources said.

Built in the ‘60s, the four-bedroom home also has a guest house that had been turned into a recording studio by Grammy-winning composer David Foster, a former owner. Nolte bought the house from a Westside attorney.

The actor plans to turn the house and his existing home, also on two acres, into one residence, sources said.