Mythical since Brian de Palma’s 1983 film Scarface, Villa El Fureidis re-entered the Californian real estate market at the end of November 2024. To acquire it, you will still have to fork out 40 million dollars.
Located in Montecito on the Californian coast, around 145 kilometres west of Los Angeles, the El Fureidis mansion, now owned by Indian businessman Pradeep Yohanne Gupta, is currently up for sale. Its value, close to 40 million dollars, should not scare off the wealthy given its rich cinematic heritage.
A legendary venue for the 7th art
Built in 1906 by the American architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue for a certain James Waldron Gillespie, the mansion named El Fureidis offers an unobstructed view of the Pacific Ocean. Surrounded by lush gardens, palm trees and numerous fountains, this villa, which overlooks four pools, spans 920m2. Despite its size, it has just four bedrooms and nine bathrooms (no less).
Its design oscillates between several styles: a certain classicism that brings timeless prestige, an ever-elegant Roman/Byzantine spirit and the freshness of Mediterranean architecture that invites you to experience La Dolce Vita. The high ceilings, no less than six metres high, reveal sublime ceilings such as the dome-shaped ceiling in 24-carat gold in the dining room.
While the property is well known to property investors, it is no stranger to the general public either. An iconic film location, the mansion played host to part of the filming of Scarface, directed by Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone.
The residence of legendary gangster Tony Montana, played by Al Pacino, the villa alone symbolises the American dream and the opulence of the character’s life as a mafioso. Several scenes were shot in this setting, including the grand finale of the film, which will go down in the annals of cinema history. For the record, Scarface is set in Miami, but El Fureidis is actually on the west coast in Montecito, just over 4,500 km away.
A $40 million house
Backed by this cinematic history and its top-of-the-range architecture, the villa is on sale for $40 million. But the price hasn’t always been so high. In 2008, Tony Montana’s house was purchased for ‘just’ $20 million, and then let four years later.
In 2014, El Fureidis was put back up for sale for 35 million dollars. An overvalued price according to the experts, which was then halved. In the end, it was bought for $12.6 million by Pradeep Yohanne Gupta.
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Featured photo: © Village Properties/Tom Ploch
