When the Beverly Hillbillies moved into their new mansion, the family was amazed at all its features. We know Jed Clampett gave it a “wee-doggie.”
Remember the cement pond? And the fancy eating room? And there was so much land for Elly May to keep her critters. The whole juxtaposition of rural folks living in opulence gave the Beverly Hillbillies its charm and an abundance of plot lines. The show ran from 1962-71.
In real life, this mansion was one of the most lavish in the country. The Beverly Hillbillies wasn’t the only show to use it. The Jerry Lewis movie Cinderfella featured the mansion. So did the comedy Disorderlies. The mansion also made an appearance in the Sylvester Stallone movie Over the Top.
And this house truly was over the top. It was massive, measured at 21,523 square feet. There were five houses on the property, including one initially owned by Ronald Reagan.
You can catch a glimpse of the exterior in the closing credits of the Beverly Hillbillies.
Beverly Hillbillies Mansion Was Too Much For First Owner
The house was named Kirkeby Mansion. That’s for its second owner. Arnold Kirkeby was a famous hotelier. His hotels were grand, ranging from the Drake, to the Beverly Wilshire to the Warwick in New York.
The first owner was an engineer who paid $2 million to build the home. But once the home was finished, his wife thought it was too over the top. Kirkeby bought the home in 1945.
The architecture of the Beverly Hillbillies mansion is considered French neo-classical. The estate is 10 acres. There is a 150-foot waterfall and an underground elevator.
Estate Featured 18 Bedrooms, Tunnel from Home to Pool
CNN reported that the Beverly Hillbillies mansion featured 18 bedrooms and 25 bathrooms. There was a ballroom. And for visitors, there was a five-bedroom guest house at back. Plus, there was so much room. Try a garage that can hold 40 vehicles. There also was a wine cellar large enough for 12,000 bottles. We’re assuming closet space is equally as large.
And to top it all off, the Beverly Hillbillies mansion sported a panoramic view of the city and the Pacific Ocean. Don’t forget the 75-foot pool and tennis courts. If you didn’t want to go outside, you could take the tunnel from the house to the pool.
A. Jerrold Perenchio, chairman and CEO of Univision, bought the property in 1986 for a cool $14 million. He added to it. When he died in 2017, his heirs put the Beverly Hillbillies mansion on the market.
The mansion sold in 2019. It took someone really rich to afford the price. Lachlan Murdoch, the son of Rupert Murdoch, bought the home for a reported $150 million. It became the most expensive home ever sold in California. The previous record was the $110 million price of a Malibu estate sold by Peter Morton, the co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe chain.
Lachlan Murdoch bought a nearby home for $14 million to add to his estate. That home was owned by Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Cheryl Tiegs.
So, we’re imagining the Clampetts returning to their present day Beverly Hillbillies mansion. It certainly deserves a “Wee-doggie” from Jed.
