The Californian mansion belonging to Carla Sands, the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, listed Wednesday for $37 million.
Ms. Sands, 57, and her late husband Fred Sands, a Los Angeles real estate mogul, purchased the property on Bel Air’s tony Moraga Drive in 1999 through a trust, records with PropertyShark show.
They paid a little over $4 million for the spread, though they likely razed what was on the property as this residence was built in 2002, according to the listing with Joyce Rey of Coldwell Banker, who did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The property was the former site of oil tycoon Howard B. Keck’s estate until 1979, according to reports. Keck, the former chairman of the Superior Oil Company, also bred and raced thoroughbred horses, including Ferdinand, the 1986 winner of the Kentucky Derby. He was also the owner of a racing team that twice won the Indianapolis 500.
The main property, an Italian-style villa, spans over 14,000 square feet and has four bedrooms, formal living and dining rooms, a library, multiple fireplaces and “a floor plan that is formal, yet creates a comfortable and inviting ambiance,” according to the listing. The almost four-acre grounds also hold a 10-car motor court, a swimming pool and a one-bedroom guest house.
The villa made headlines in 2003 when its architects, Hablinski + Manion Architecture, reportedly realized the home’s design had been closely mimicked by another home nearby. They launched—and won—a copyright-infringement case.
Fred Sands was the founder of Fred Sands Realtors, which he sold to Coldwell Banker in December 2000 for more than $100 million. Following the sale, he founded an investment management company that he ran until his death in 2015. At that time, Ms. Sands took over the company.
She became the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark in November.
In September, Ms. Sands—who could not be reached for comment—listed her beachfront Malibu home, according to the Los Angeles Times. The five-bedroom house is now asking $16.5 million.