Snapchat Exec Buys $10.2 Million Brentwood Estate

Over the last year, Snap, Inc. has experienced a huge resurgence, to the delight of investors. The stock price of the social media company has risen to more than $70 a share, which is also quadruple the value of 12 months previously. Currently, the company’s market cap is estimated at $113 billion. It is not only the investors that are rejoicing at these figures, as the company’s bigwigs are also financially benefiting from the current situation. Senior team members have seen huge rises in their personal wealth, which has led to many of them splashing out on a new home. These include both the cofounders, the chief business officer, and the former chief strategy officer. Another group that is enjoying the success of Snap Inc. is the company attorneys.

The most senior in-house lawyer is general counsel Michael O’Sullivan. He is one of the latest members of the team to ride the waves of the company’s success. Before joining Snap, Inc., Michael O’Sullivan had more than 25 years of experience in private practice. His previous role was at a prestigious legal firm called Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP. One of the firm partners was John Speigel, who also happens to be the father of Evan Speigel, who is Snap’s CEO. O’Sullivan is one of the highest-earning employees at Snap Inc. Despite selling more than $25 million of Snapchat stock over the last 12 months, he still has a stake in the company that is valued at around $68 million. It means he has more than enough money in the band to buy himself a new home. Snapchat’s general counsel has now bought himself an eight-figure property in Los Angeles, and his purchase will hardly make a dent in his bank account. Here is an overview of the sale and a look at Michael O’Sullivan’s new home.

An Overview of the House and Sale

The property that Michael O’Sullivan has bought is in Brentwood in Los Angeles’ Westside. It is a 7,373-square-feet house that was built in 1982, and it sits on a plot of 0.57 acres. There are five bedrooms and 5.5-bathrooms. O’ Sullivan paid $10.2 million for the Brentwood estate and The Real Deal says that the price paid by O’Sullivan was $410,000 more than the original asking price. It is a sign that O’Sullivan wanted to seal the deal quickly or that he faced competition to buy the house, and this pushed up the price.

Inside the Property

Although the house is almost 40 years old, it has been well-maintained over the last four decades, and there have been many improvements made to the property during that time. Throughout the house, there is white-painted woodwork, paneled walls, and beamed ceilings. There are also lots of French doors leading to the outdoor space. Through the front doors, there is a wide, tiled entranceway with white walls and doorways leading to the various spaces on the house’s lower floor. Within the double-height entranceway, there is a wooden staircase leading to an open balcony on the upper story, from which there is access to the bedrooms. At the far end of the entranceway, a double-height sitting room is overlooked by a balcony. An interesting feature of this sitting room is a bar area with glass shelving, a wood-topped bar, and bar stools.

There is a formal dining room with a wooden floor, although most of the floor is covered in a large rug. Double wooden doors open from the entranceway into the dining room, and a vast paneled window overlooks the garden. It currently houses an eight-seat dining suite, although there is plenty of room to have a more extensive suite to seat more people in this room. A candelabra-style light fitting hangs centrally above the dining table. One area of the house that has undergone a remodel is the kitchen, and the updates mean it is one of the most impressive rooms at the property. It has one wall of white-painted exposed brick with two alcoves, one of which houses a fireplace and the other houses a large range. There are two islands to the center of the marble-floored kitchen, one of which has a countertop sink. In addition to the main living and shared spaces at the property, some other spaces make this house stand out from standard properties. For example, Dirt.com says there is a library paneled in walnut, a gym, and a wine cellar with storage for up to 1,000 bottles. All five of the bedrooms have their own ensuite bathroom, and there is also a half-bathroom for general use. The largest of the bedrooms is the master retreat, which is on the upper level. It has a fireplace in the bedroom, a separate sitting area, French doors leading to a private balcony that overlooks the backyard, a luxurious ensuite bathroom, and dual closets.

The Grounds of Michael O’Sullivan’s Home

Although the Brentwood estate was built in 1982, the exterior of the structure has a neoclassical style. The two-story property sits on a narrow yet deep lot that measures just over half an acre. At the front of the house, gates are set into tall hedges, which open to a stone pathway leading to the house’s front door. A wider gateway set between stone pillars opens to a wide driveway that sits in front of the integrated double garage. Most of the grounds are at the property’s rear, and the space is designed for alfresco living, dining, and entertaining. The various features of the garden are set amongst manicured lawns and surrounded by tall hedges that give the grounds some privacy. One of the main features of the backyard is a large swimming pool with an in-built spa, and the pool has a concrete patio surround. Another feature of the garden is a full-size paddle tennis court.