Biography & Early Wealth Journey

In 2007, Gretzky sold the house to former professional baseball player Lenny Dykstra for $18.5 million. At the time, Dykstra was living the high-life as a self-proclaimed financial guru. Dystra earned $36 million in salary (before taxes) during his MLB career. After retiring in 1998, he threw himself into the investing world. And, for a brief moment, Lenny appeared to be living the life of a brilliant entrepreneur. He took part of his baseball fortune and invested in several car-wash and quick-lube franchises throughout the Los Angeles area. The businesses were so successful that he was able to take home a $1 million dollar annual salary.

Over the next few years, business boomed. In 2007, Lenny sold his car wash and lube empire for $51 million. He purchased a fleet of cars, and of course the Gretzky mansion for $18.5 million. By 2009 he estimated his personal net worth to be just under $60 million. An amazing feel-good entrepreneurial story if there ever was one.

Lenny became a CNBC commentator and had a weekly stock picking column on Jim Cramer's website. Private clients paid Lenny $995 a year for his stock advice.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last. The financial crisis hit Dykstra like a fastball to the face. Almost exactly one year after bragging about his $60 million net worth, Lenny declared bankruptcy, listing $50k in assets and $50 million in liabilities.

Primary Income Streams & Multi-Million Contracts

Lenny was soon living out of his car and would eventually be living out of a 6×8 jail cell.

Lenny did try to sell the home, but it was literally the worst time in history to sell real estate. He initially listed it for $18.5 million. A few months later he dropped the price to $14.9 million. A few months later he listed it for $9,999,999. He eventually lost it to foreclosure.

In 2010, the sprawling mansion was purchased by an investment firm called Index Investors for a mind-bogglingly low, $760,000.

Index held onto the home until 2013 when they flipped it for $9.5 million.

Trending Wealth Dossiers:

Real Estate, Luxury Assets & Personal Investments

And to bring it full-circle, Wayne Gretzky is once again the owner for a cool $13.5 million. Hopefully Gretzky will have more luck with the property than Lenny!