Potential buyers considering snapping up Gene Wilder’s old Bel Air home just got a discount after its asking price was reduced by $3.5 million.
They’ll still have to shell out a significant amount of cash, as the asking price is now $9.5 million.
It also comes with some newly reported stipulations, as future buyers will be required to agree not to tear down the home, according to TMZ.
The requirement to preserve the home was reportedly added by one of its previous owners, Elon Musk, 53.
Musk — who defended former representative and attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz amid accusations that he was involved in the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl — previously owned the home before selling it to Wilder’s nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman in 2020.
According to the home’s listing agent, Drew Meyers of Westside Estate Agency: ‘A house of this significance should never be torn down. It should be restored and brought back to life while maintaining its beautiful soul.
‘We want to make sure it’s sold to someone who appreciates its timelessness,’ he added.
The gorgeous Bel Air house, which Wilder purchased back in 1976, is going on the market for an impressive $12,950,000, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory star — whose Bonnie & Clyde costar Evans Evans died earlier this summer — bought the house for just $300,000 when he was hot off a string of acclaimed films including The Producers (1967), Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971), Blazing Saddles (1974), Young Frankenstein (1974) and Silver Streak (1976).
Wilder — who died in 2016 at age 83 — later sold the 2,750 square-foot home in 2007 for $2.725 million, and it subsequently had another high-profile owner: Elon Musk.
The Tesla billionaire bought the home for $6.75 million in 2013, via a trust linked to him, after he had already purchased his main residence across the street from it.
According to the Journal, Musk later allowed the home to go back to Wilder’s family when he sold it for $7 million to Wilder’s nephew, the filmmaker Jordan Walker-Pearlman and his wife Elizabeth Hunter.
Although the couple couldn’t afford the home that Walker-Pearlman had grown up in — he spent half of his time living with his uncle Wilder due to his parents’ inconsistency — Musk reportedly worked out a deal by which he would loan them most of the $9.5 million asking price so that they could buy it from the trust.
However, the couple have now fallen behind on the payments of their $6.7 million loan, and an entity connected to the X (formerly Twitter) chairman has filed a notice of default against the couple, which is the first step to foreclosing on Wilder’s former home.
While speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Walker-Pearlman was surprisingly zen about the loss of the home, and he said Musk had not been ‘adversarial or mean’ about the loan default.
‘There’s no tragedy here,’ the filmmaker said. ‘Elon gave us a magical opportunity. I have no complaints.’
He blamed major Hollywood studios and streamers’ resistance to signing new contracts with writers’ and actors’ unions — which led to months of strikes by WGA and SAG-AFTRA members before the studios eventually relented — for significantly curtailing the couple’s ability to make their loan payments.
The loan payments were also in his wife’s name, and Walker-Pearlman said she was particularly concerned about failing to pay the billionaire.
‘She did not want to continue morally owing Elon anymore,’ he explained. ‘We already owe him such a spiritual debt.’
Since defaulting, the couple have listed the home — which TMZ says has four bedrooms and five bathrooms — for $12.95 million with Drew Meyers of Westside Estate Agency.
Walker-Pearlman said he was still happy to have restored his uncle’s home to its former glory, even if his time residing in it was coming to an abrupt close.
‘This is likely the closing of a very unicorn and beautiful chapter of our lives,’ he concluded on an optimistic note. ‘I’m not disgruntled at all.’
Wilder’s home, which is modest by contemporary celebrity standards, features a refreshing kidney-shaped pool on the property.
It’s also perfectly located for golf fans, as it overlooks the Bel-Air Country Club’s course.
Despite that proximity, the house is surrounded by hedges and trees to give it plenty of privacy.
The interior is largely similar to how the home was during Wilder’s tenure, as Musk reportedly kept it largely preserved, and his nephew subsequently restored it to its former glory.
It features a large, open kitchen with tasteful dark hardwood floors and white walls and cabinets that help to brighten the space up.
Despite the retro look, it still features up-to-date appliances for any amateur chefs looking to cook up a feast.
Near the kitchen is an intimate, curving bar with plenty of space for bartending and entertaining.
Adjacent to the bar is an curving dining room with abundant natural light that would work equally well for breakfast, cocktail parties or candle-lit dinners.
Wilder’s home features rustic wood ceiling beams to emphasize its classic style, and some of the walls are accented with white-painted bricks.
The master bedroom gets abundant natural lighting thanks to multiple sliding glass doors, and it conveniently opens out onto the pool area, which has plenty of space for lounge chairs.
