Rapper Kanye West has reduced the listing price of an abandoned Malibu property he bought for $57.3 million in 2021. Now listed at $39 million, the 4,000-square-foot home was gutted and abandoned. West has been trying to sell it for almost five months, enlisting celebrity “Selling Sunset” agent Jason Oppenheim for assistance. Shortly after purchasing the Tadao Ando-designed house, West removed every fixture and furnishing, knocked out the windows, and removed the doors. He appeared to be preparing for an extensive renovation. West, whose legal name is now Ye, reportedly shut down his building company, Yeezy Construction, Inc., in November and hasn’t touched the house in over a year.
West paid bicycle designer Richard Sachs $57.3 million for the mansion in an off-market deal in 2021, significantly less than the $75 million it was listed for in 2020. In 2022, West hired contractors to start the renovation, but reports emerged that the house, completely open to the elements on one side since the removal of floor-to-ceiling windows, had fallen into disrepair. Last September, contractor Tony Saxon sued West, claiming he was forced to work 16-hour days, sleep on the floor, and was fired for raising concerns about plans for the house’s electrical system without being paid more than $1 million he’s owed; West has denied the allegations. In January, Saxon’s lawyers placed a lien on the house, preventing its sale without the buyer first settling debts owed to Saxon.
“What’s missing are the interiors,” Oppenheim told the Hollywood Reporter, adding that a new owner would need to spend several million dollars to redo the house. “It’s priced to reflect the need for the interior finishes to be replaced. On the positive, it can be brought up to 2024 standards — it was built about 10 years ago.”
