Real Estate
This $49.5 Million Bel Air Compound Is Hidden in Plain Sight
The 1.5-acre property is nestled in the grounds of the Bel Air Country Club with no adjoining neighbors
The property’s main house was inspired by a Tuscan villa.
Photographer: Jim bartschIn 1979, the extended stay housing company Oakwood was already a booming business, and co-founder Howard Ruby was traveling constantly. “It was the Airbnb of its day,” says Ruby, who’s since stepped away from the company. “These were furnished apartments that were rented by the month.”
In his travels—Oakwood eventually operated in more than 16 countries, he says—Ruby developed a fondness for old world European grandeur. “I was living in Bel Air, in a rather modern house,” he explains, but after seeing the best of Italy and France, he wanted something different.