[imagesource:x/@askashbroker]
The most expensive house in South Africa has been turning heads, and not just because of its eye-watering price tag.
The mansion at 30 Geneva Drive in Camps Bay, sometimes referred to as ‘The White House’, or more popularly ‘Casablanca’ made headlines recently for going on the market for a whopping R700 million – but nobody has been able to say who the owner is.
The mysterious dealings are even more intriguing as the masterpiece has suddenly been taken off the market, even though it doesn’t seem to have been sold.
Per IOL, the Ward 54 councillor, Nicola Jowell, said the “house itself was a mystery”, while someone on X said this house has “the kind of secret that would make Sherlock Holmes raise an eyebrow”.
East Coast Radio reported that even the neighbours are tight-lipped as to who the owner could be, causing the speculative frenzy to spiral even further on who might call this luxurious manor their home.
Reports state that the mansion last sold in 2012 for a sizeable R6,750,000 and boasts eight bedrooms and 13 bathrooms. Honestly, it shouldn’t be called a home or a mansion. It’s clearly a palace fit for royalty:
Some more shots of Casablanca’s interior: whiskey bar, massage room, bedroom and lounging area.
They say the house has enough space to host up to 1000 guests… not sure where they are going to park on Geneva Drive though🤣 pic.twitter.com/HBInmIAwHJ
— Ash Müller (@askashbroker) September 11, 2023
It’s a paradise that includes a gym, squash court, sauna (for those stressful billionaire days), wine cellar, whisky bar, cinema, billiards room, library, Olympic-size pool, car wash, and parking space for over 14 cars.
The Weekend Argus just reported that they followed up on recent claims that the Solomon Brothers Group (who are also behind the PepperClub Hotel & Spa) was the actual owner of Casablanca, who did not confirm or deny ownership but said it was “privately owned” and was no longer on the market.
Solomon said in his email response: “The property is privately owned and is not for sale. We have no further comment.”
Jeez, way to keep the mystery alive.
It is unclear how long the house has been on the market and when it was taken off the pages of international estate agents’ sites, among them Jade Mills in Beverly Hills and Barry Cohen Homes.
The architect behind the house’s beautiful design is John Middleton-Simpson of Cape Town, who said that it was inspired by a property built in the 1990s in Llandudno:
“It was two properties which were consolidated. It was built from the ground,” he said. “The construction began in 2011. The top floor offers the main suite for the owner and a floor below that has the main bedrooms. There is a study and also a servants’ quarter.”
“The owners had seen the house I had designed in Llandudno and that is where they got their inspiration from. The house in Camps Bay is not easy to miss, you can see it from the beach. Everyone knows it and who owns it.”
Weird that everyone is suspiciously mum on who that is, though.
[sources:eastcoastradio&iol]
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