In Los Angeles, tens of thousands of people live below the poverty line, while at the same time, mansions on massive estates are selling for more than $100 million.

Uber co-founder Garrett Camp and his partner Eliza Nguyen have just contributed to the mansion economy by dropping a record-breaking $72,5 million on a mansion, in what is believed to be the largest-ever sale of a home in their neighbourhood.

In the same week, a mansion that once belonged to Aaron Spelling sold for $120 million, making it the highest home price in Los Angeles County history.

But I digress…over to The Guardian for more on Camp and his mansion:

The Beverly Hills mansion purchase by Camp was completed mere weeks after Uber’s IPO further enriched its wealthy investors and founders. Camp, a Canadian entrepreneur with an estimated net worth of $4.2bn, already owns a portfolio of luxury properties in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Manhattan.

Camp’s purchase (below) has not been well received by activists and Uber drivers who have been protesting Uber’s labour practices.

“This is a perfect example of the 1% stealing from the rest of us,” Nicole Moore, a ride-share driver in Los Angeles, said of Camp’s $72.5m purchase. “Drivers are living in their cars. We’re fighting for fair wages. At least share that wealth with the people who have actually built your company.”

Moore, who is also an organizer with Rideshare Drivers United, told the Guardian she works as a part-time driver in addition to a full-time job in healthcare because housing costs are so expensive in Los Angeles: “It’s an abomination. Income inequality has gone rampant.”

“This guy is buying lavish houses with our money, our hard-earned money that they are unjustly taking from us,” added Karim Bayumi, another Los Angeles Uber driver and organizer. “It’s exploitation.”

The purchasing of the mansion is particularly controversial because Uber continues to lose money while aggressively opposing drivers’ efforts to organise and improve their working conditions.

“It’s a slap in everyone’s face,” [Veena Dubal, an associate law professor at the University of California] said, arguing that Uber was built on the idea of breaking labor laws and violating existing regulations. “The capitalist system we have has unduly rewarded him with extraordinary, in-your-face wealth.”

He’s decided to use that wealth to accumulate properties.

Camp’s Beverly Hills estate is now reportedly home to a 12,000-square-foot residence with seven bedrooms and a new guesthouse. The Manor in Holmby Hills is said to include a large aquarium in a study, a nightclub in a basement level, a tanning room, a solarium, a spa, a tennis court, koi ponds, rose gardens and more.

I’m sure Camp will think long and hard about the conditions some Uber drivers work under while contemplating his new aquarium.

[source:guardian]