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Deal To Sell Playboy Mansion To Snack Food Billionaire Falls Apart [UPDATED]
Playboy bunny Sheila Levell, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and Playboy bunny Holly Madison at the Playboy Mansion on May 6, 2003 in Holmby Hills, California. (Photo by Robert Mora/Getty Images)
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Playboy Enterprises' much-hyped deal to sell their eponymous, iconic mansion to a 32-year-old billionaire who once told The New York Times that he had "been with more chicks than any fat guy you know, except Pavarotti,” has fallen through, reports TMZ.
J. Daren Metropoulos, the scion of a Greek private equity mogul and "heir to a fortune built on Chef Boyardee meatballs, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and Bumble Bee tuna," according to the Times, had managed to buy the luxe pad for a reported $110 million in June, albeit with one caveat: the home's famously pajama clad owner and his 30-year-old bride would be able to remain in situ as long as Hugh Hefner was still living.
The iconic Holmby Hills mansion, home to decades of debauchery and that swimming grotto, was purchased by Hefner in 1971 for about $1 million. TMZ reports that although the deal stipulated that Metropoulos would hold off on any restorations or additions while Hef was still kicking, "Metropoulos [still] wanted a significant amount of access during Hef's remaining years ... and Playboy felt he was being unreasonable."
After weeks of haggling and dozens of revisions, the deal is said to have officially died sometime Thursday night. The estate will be back on the market Monday, if you happen to be looking.
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[Update] 2:00 p.m. Apparently the deal is actually still on, at least according to a spokesperson for Daren Metropoulos, who told City News Service that the sale was still moving forward as planned, adding that "Gossip reports suggesting the deal has fallen apart are simply untrue." We will update accordingly after Playboy issues their statement.
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