Biography & Early Wealth Journey

The home is spread across two lots and has seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms in its 8,000 square feet. It has a guest house and 100 feet of beach frontage. The $110 million sale was, at the time, the most expensive home sale ever in Los Angeles County, besting the previous record of $100 million which was attained twice in 2016 for the sale of the Playboy Mansion and for a spec mansion in the same Holmby Hills neighborhood.

Carbon Beach (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

This particular home is unusual, even for Billionaire's beach, because it takes up two lots. The home sits between two homes owned by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Morton acquired the two properties over three decades in separate transactions equaling $5.6 million. Architect Richard Meier was hired to design the new home. The house is wrapped in teak and has wrap-around balconies to take advantage of the ocean view. The home features wood plank walkways leading to the beach, a swimming pool, and a lush garden.

Primary Income Streams & Multi-Million Contracts

It took two years to complete the deal. The buyers, Michael and Iris Smith, were shown the home a number of times and also leased the home for an extended period of time to be sure they wanted to spend $110 million on it. Smith is the chairman and CEO of Freeport LNG Development, a Texas-based energy company that offers vacuum-insulated gas transfer lines, regasification services, and storage facilities for liquefied natural gas. He previously served as president of both the Colorado Oil & Gas Assn. and Basin Exploration Inc. Smith's neighbors include Ellison as well as Jeffrey Katzenberg and billionaire real estate developer Eli Broad.