Now that she’s spooned out a whopping $24 million for a brand-new residential extravaganza in L.A.’s princely Pacific Palisades area, formerly New York-based Van Wagner billboard heiress Hillary Thomas has no need for her other Palisades mansion, a smaller but still stunning and designer-done estate in the prestigious Riviera neighborhood pocket. The East Coast-style house has just been dropped onto the open market, carrying a pricetag that’s just a couple hairs under $15 million.
Built new in 2014, Thomas acquired the house in 2018 with her husband, venture capitalist Brett Thomas, paying about $13.9 million for the premises through an LLC easily linked to her. The approx. 9,100 sq. ft. structure lies on a south-facing .31-acre lot and is walking distance to the exclusive Riviera Country Club, where initiation fees top $250,000 and members include Mark Wahlberg, Adam Sandler and Ari Emanuel.
Set on one of the Riviera’s most coveted streets, on a block lined by achingly gorgeous native sycamores, the house offers perfectly maintained lawns, sculpted hedges, white fences and a front-facing two-car garage.
Inside, a dramatic double-height entry is certain to impress guests and features chevron-patterned hardwood floors. To the left of the entry is a formal dining room; to the right lies a fireplace-equipped living room bathed in warm neutral shades of grey and milky white, a decor trend that carries on through much of the home.
An enormous kitchen can easily cater the biggest Fourth of July bashes — COVID-19 allowing, of course — and includes two substantial islands with bar-style seating, plus every luxury appliance known to mankind. There’s also a lovely breakfast area with views of the gardens through a glassy set of French doors. Perhaps the most visually stunning main floor space, however, is the all-white family room, with its magazine-worthy array of bookshelves and wall of glass sliders that seamlessly give way to the backyard.
Each of the home’s seven bedrooms have ensuite baths and all are custom decorated custom-designed with a unique theme; there’s a pink-and-white bedroom and a black-and-white bedroom, while the all-white master suite has his-and-hers baths, plus a sitting area and lavish dressing room.
The rest of the estate is entirely devoted to wellness and some old-fashioned rest and relaxation; the house’s finished basement packs in a gym, sauna, wine cellar with space for hundreds of bottles, and a soundproof movie theater that can seat a dozen. The backyard, meanwhile, includes a large pool with inset spa and multiple waterfall features, sports court, outdoor kitchen with BBQ, and an outdoor entertainment area/living room with TV and fireplace.
Some of Thomas’ nearest Riviera neighbors included Sam Raimi, Sydney Holland, Kate Hudson, Ben Affleck, and Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley, who recently dashed out $22 million for an even more extravagant manor just a quick skip away from the Thomas house.
As the only daughter of New York billboard magnate Richard Schaps, who bootstrapped Van Wagner Productions into one of the world’s largest privately-owned advertising companies, Thomas and her family received a giant windfall when the outdoor assets of Van Wagner — now known as Outfront Media — were sold to CBS in 2014 for about $700 million in cash. Last month, she acquired the aforementioned $24 million new Palisades estate, a spec-built compound that currently ranks as the biggest residential deal recorded on L.A.’s Westside so far in 2020.
