...continued from THEY WERE ASKING $16 MILLION
THE ESTATE TOOK A YEAR TO SELL
SCHWARZENEGGER AND SHRIVER SELL OUT OF THE PALISADES

Last year, they decided to sell their Palisades digs. The original asking price was $16 million, making it one of the most expensive properties in the area. Customized and personalized, the five+ acre province off of Sunset Boulevard was a masterpiece estate.

“It’s a great property,” noted a family friend who wished to remain anonymous.
“It’s over the bridge and through the woods to a very special paradise.”

Schwarzenegger and Shriver purchased their first home in Palisades in
1986, the year they were married. They began their expansion when they purchased the adjacent properties in 1993. At its pinnacle, the Schwarzenegger estate features three homes with 16 bedrooms, 19 bathrooms, three tennis courts and three swimming pools.

As with many top-end properties, it took several months of innovative marketing
to sell the property. Offered as a compound, the four parcels also were
divided into three properties for those potential buyers who do not have movie
star salaries.

Maria’s cousin, Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, purchased one property.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the property was slightly more than an acre
with a pool and a tennis court. The asking price was $3.4 million. The house had
been a Valentine's gift from Arnold to Maria in 2001.

As you know, Maria’s brother, Bobby Shriver, is running for the Santa Monica
City Council. Inevitably his relationship with his sister and the Governator is a
popular topic.

“People were asking if I was a Democrat, because of Arnold ... like we must have drank Arnold Kool-Aid or something,” noted the City Council candidate to the Daily Press. About his uncle Ted Kennedy’s recent visit to Santa Monica, Shriver observed, “I think having Sen. Kennedy say I’m a Democrat helps.”

“There’ll be nobody who’ll work harder,” Sen. Ted Kennedy stated about Shriver when he was in Santa Monica last week. Sen. Kennedy noted the work Shriver has done with U2 singer Bono for AIDS victims in Africa, and stated. “He’s a very hard worker.”

A woman who calls Fort Lauderdale her primary residence bought the two of
the parcels, which were packaged as a 2.5-plus acre estate located on Sunset
between Amalfi Drive and Will Rogers State Park Road. She paid close to the
asking price of $7.95 million. Her estate has a fabulous living room with projection facilities, as well as a large master bedroom suite and six bedrooms. She also got bragging rights to say, “Arnold slept here.”

The third property —1.25 acres with a pool and a tennis court — sold in August.
The asking price was $4.95 million for this gated, 5,000-square-foot country
English retreat with paneled walls and beveled-glass windows. The family also
owns property in La Canada.

On the economic statement he submitted when he ran for governor,
Schwarzenegger listed several other real estate holdings, including Easton Town
Center shopping complex in Columbus, Ohio, valued at more than $1 million. He
listed himself as president of Main Street Plaza in Santa Monica — 3110 Main
Street — the shopping area that houses Maria’s former restaurant, Schatzi, and a
Terminator mural by the elevator.

When Schwarzenegger won the recall election on Oct. 9, 2003, he praised his
wife for her political skills. “I know how many votes I got today because of you.”

Money and politics run in the family. According to http://www.celebritywonder.
com, at his Hollywood peak, Schwarzenegger was paid $30 million for T3: Rise of the Machines. At his bodybuilding peak, his chest was 57”, waist 34”, biceps 22”,
thighs 28”, calves 20”, and his competition weight was 235 pounds — 260 pounds during the off-season. Yet he finds politics more satisfying than
either success.

“The greatest thing you can do is serve the people,” the Governator says of his
new role. “It gives me the greatest satisfaction — much more than going down
another red carpet to do a movie premiere — to go and create after-school programs, help special Olympians, inspire kids to stay away from drugs and gangs.”

For your real estate needs, e-mail Jodi Summers at [email protected] or call 310-260-8269.

When you buy and sell real estate, work with an authority. Jodi knows property. Enjoy myreal estate column and statistics every Wednesday in the Santa Monica Daily Press.

Jodi Summers
Sotheby's International Realty
310-260-8269