Variety recently discovered the identity of the person who paid exactly $40 million in cash last summer for the former compound of “The Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson. The “secret” buyer was Silicon Valley investor Riaz Valani, who amassed his fortune as the very first investor in Juul, the original e-cigarette company that made vaping popular. Juul was bought out by Marlboro parent company Altria in 2018 for $12.8 billion.
The original asking price for the bluff-top Point Dume property had been $81.5 million. Its former owner, producer Sidney Kimmel, had purchased the 4.16-acre estate in 2007 from Carson’s widow Alexis for $36.5 million.
The property is built on either side of a public street (Wildlife Road), with a guest house on one side and a 7,000-square foot main house designed by architect Ed Niles on the other. It features “jungle-like landscaping,” a koi pond with its own waterfall and a second waterfall cascading over a rock sculpture into a pool/spa combo with coastline views.
Valani’s longtime associate, Augusta Tigrett, is the daughter of Hard Rock Cafe co-founder Isaac Tigrett and the late Maureen Starkey, Ringo Starr’s ex-wife.