A billion dollars is a steep price to pay for a whole lot of nothing – even if the nothing in question happens to be a prime piece of open land with commanding views over the mansion-studded hills of Bel-Air and Los Angeles.
Still, a billion dollars is what the owners of the 157 acres perched between Benedict and Franklin canyons say they want, and they are not in the mood for discounts. At least in theory, the listing – known variously as the Vineyard or the Mountain – is an invitation to the ultimate gazillionaire to build his or her palace of dreams above a city famously built on them.
If the tract – or rather, 17 adjacent tracts – fetched the full billion, it would be by far the most valuable piece of real estate in the United States, and maybe the world.
From the moment the Mountain hit the market late last month, courtesy of a real estate agent specializing in the highest of high-end properties, it has attracted curiosity, astonishment, skepticism and some hard questions about who exactly owns it, whether they are serious about selling and, if they aren’t, what their motivation might be.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
