For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Please Allow Javascript and reload this page.
Grant Cardone, the high-flying reality show star, author and real estate investor, has landed as the buyer of a beachside Malibu mansion that was most recently owned by a Ukrainian business tycoon.
“I think I stole this house,” said Cardone.
The property, along the enclave’s famed Carbon Beach, had most recently been listed for $50 million. Cardone told The Real Deal he paid $40 million, with the deal set to close this week. (The Real Deal reported on Tuesday that the property had gone into contract, but at the time the buyer was unknown.)
The 63-year-old Cardone was born in Louisiana but has long been mostly based in South Florida, where he’s emerged as a kind of celebrity real estate guru for the social media age. He speaks with a Southern accent and projects a kind of carefree charm; he’s also a tireless promoter and seemingly very online, often depicting a flashy lifestyle that includes private planes and meetings with A-listers such as Floyd Mayweather.
Cardone has authored various business and real estate advice books (“The 10X Rule,” “The Millionaire Booklet,” “Sell or Be Sold”); he also founded Cardone University, which brands itself as ““the #1 Business Training Platform in the World.” And he’s a motivational speaker and, unsurprisingly, a reality show star, appearing in the Discovery Channel’s “Undercover Billionaire.”
“This is one of 10 businesses that I own,” he said of his property ventures. “Real estate is probably my most passionate business — I bought over $4 billion worth of real estate, finding very exclusive properties.”
Some of those exclusive properties have included a 346-unit apartment building in Delray Beach, Fla.; a 501-unit complex in Sunrise, Fla.; and an Aventura, Fla. office complex.
Last May, Cardone paid $28 million for a new residence for himself, buying a waterfront Miami-area mansion from Tommy Hilfiger, who had spoken at one of Cardone’s 10X conferences.
“We live on the best beach in Miami,” he said. “And now we’ll have this other property in California and we’ll spend five or six months — we’ll probably spend three to four months there.” It would definitely be less than six months, he emphasized. (You know, residency taxes.)
For years Cardone, a former California resident — it was the taxes that drove him away — has been visiting Malibu frequently. He fell in love with the Carbon Beach property more than a year ago while on a break from shooting a strange, austere “Undercover Billionaire” episode that had him dropped off in Pueblo, Colorado with only $100. He ended up staying at an RV business.
“My treat was to go to Malibu,” he said. “I’ve been trying to buy it since.”
But Cardone wasn’t actually drawn to the house itself, a two-story, contemporary-style mansion that has been owned for nearly a decade by the Ukrainian oligarch Vadim Shulman, who apparently hasn’t been spending much time there.
“It needs updating. The house itself has been completely ignored,” he said. “There’s no life in it. One of the things that attracted me to the property as a buyer — and as a hunter and as a killer — is there’s no life there. Once the owner checks out, the potential for getting a better than fair price is improved.”
But the location, the man with the 3.6 million Instagram followers said, was divine, especially the exceptional 150 feet of beach access.
“There’s not another place in the country like Malibu,” he said. “It’s a one of a kind beach — it attracts a certain kind of people there.”
And amid a frenetic lifestyle that frequently has Cardone traveling around the country to host dozens of high-energy business events, he was mostly looking forward to having some quiet time.
“It’s good to be able to go someplace to sink your feet in the sand, get in the ocean and check out for a second — Malibooyah-style!” he said.
Cardone loves it so much he even shared a picture of it on Instagram several months ago, while vacationing there.
“I put it in my story,” he said, “and now I can call it mine.”
The deal involved five of L.A.’s highest-profile luxury agents: Rayni and Branden Williams and Trevor Wright of the Beverly Hills Estates represented Cardone, and Sandro Dazzan and Cooper Mount of The Agency represented Shulman.
All rights reserved © 2022 The Real Deal is a registered Trademark of Korangy Publishing Inc.
The Deal’s newsletters give you the latest scoops, fresh headlines, marketing data, and things to know within the industry.
By clicking Subscribe you agree to our Privacy Policy.
Round-up top news and topics for each of the following cities
Select the newsletter you’d like to receive below
Select the newsletter you’d like to receive below
Select the newsletter you’d like to receive below
About Author
