Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, aged 44, recently spent $57.3 million in an off-market deal for a Malibu beachfront residence that’s part house, part sculpture and one of only a handful of homes in the U.S. designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando.
According to real estate blog Dirt, the nearly 4,000-square-foot house was initially offered at $75 million last year, and then taken off the market. But the lower sale price is still the third-highest price paid for a Malibu home this year.
The property had been owned by retired Wall Street financier Richard Sachs, known as the ex-boyfriend of Ashley Olsen. He’s the one who spent millions of dollars and seven years of planning and construction to convert the space to the Ando design. The result was a three-story bunker-like house that reportedly took 1,200 tons of poured concrete, 200 tons of steel reinforcement and 12 pylons driven 60 feet into the ground to keep all the weight from sinking into the sand.
The house is squeezed between the houses on either side of it and has no yard or landscaping.
Ye, one of the world’s best-selling musical artists with more than 160 million records sold, is worth $1.8 billion, according to Forbes. Also a fashion designer, he’s collaborated with Nike, Louis Vuitton, The Gap, Adidas and A.P.C. on clothing and footwear.
He’s known for his outspoken and controversial views on a number of subjects, and has opened up about various mental health issues. In 2020, he launched an unsuccessful independent presidential campaign. Ye is in the process of getting a divorce from wife Kim Kardashian, who still lives with their four children in Hidden Hills.