Never one to miss a beat, hip-hop mogul Damon Dash has sold his Benedict Canyon home of five years for $3.6 million.
Turns out Dash and his wife, fashion designer Rachel Roy, hadn't been using the house much lately. They are based in New York and have been spending most of their time there. They may buy another house in California, however, and when they do, they have indicated it may be at the beach.
The house they sold was built in 1999 and has four bedrooms and seven bathrooms in 5,800 square feet. It is a Spanish villa with Moroccan design touches such as hand-stenciled walls.
A terrace off the living room has city views. The home also has a loggia entry, an eat-in kitchen, a media room, three fireplaces and a pool. The gated estate is reached from a long, private drive.
Dash, 36, was born in New York's Harlem and in the '90s became the hip-hop impresario behind Jay-Z and Kanye West. Dash's first company was Roc-A-Fella Records; his second, with Jay-Z as his partner, was the B-boy apparel house Rocawear.
Dash and Jay-Z split in 2005, and Dash was reported to have left with an estimated net worth of $50 million. He has since added filmmaking to his entrepreneurial activities.
Brett Lawyer of Sotheby's International Realty, Sunset, had the listing, and Kelly S. Park of Sherwood Financial & Investments represented the buyers, identified as a wealthy European couple.
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L.A. foothold for soccer's Leboeuf
David Beckham's arrival in L.A. has been much heralded, but the British Beckham -- the world's highest paid soccer star- -- isn't the only soccer player of renown from across the pond to buy a home this year in Southern California.
Frank Leboeuf, a member of the French national team when it won the World Cup in 1998, just closed escrow on a Craftsman-style home in L.A.'s Miracle Mile area for $979,000, according to public records.
The house, built in 1904, has four bedrooms and 2 1/4 bathrooms, a sunroom, wood floors and air conditioning. The house was recently updated.
Leboeuf, 39, retired from professional soccer but plays for the celebrity team Hollywood United. Leboeuf was a defender on the French national team and played professionally for several clubs, including the English Premier League club Chelsea. On Saturday, Beckham will play his first game for the Galaxy against Chelsea.
Jackie Knoll with Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills South, represented Leboeuf in his purchase. Mimi Starrett and Geoff Clark from Worldwide Inc. had the listing.
