- The Netscape founder and billionaire investor has put his luxury Atherton home on the market as he heads to the California coast.
- He already owns a seven-acre property in Malibu that he purchased for a then-record $177 million in 2021.
- His decision comes after losing a campaign against affordable housing in the Silicon Valley suburbs.
Tech titan Marc Andreessen is deserting Silicon Valley for Malibu Beach after listing his Atherton mansion for $33 million.
The Netscape co-founder and Mosaic inventor already owns a string of homes in the beach town, including a seven-acre property in Paradise Cove that he purchased for $177 million in 2021.
This made it the most expensive home ever purchased in California, a record that stood until 2023, when Jay Z and Beyonce paid $200 million for the house next door.
But her house in suburban San Diego isn’t anything fancy either, with 12,200 square feet, five luxurious bedrooms, and an immaculate interior after four years of renovation.
“This hidden gem located on 1.55 acres barely noticeable from the street and located across the street from the prestigious Menlo Circus Club, is one of Atherton’s most exceptional estates,” states the realtor’s blurb. Compass.
The 1.5-acre property features manicured lawns, a covered patio, a pergola, fountains, seven fireplaces and a reflecting pool.
“While the exterior symmetry and classic look endures, it has evolved into a place of chic sophistication,” real estate agents say.
Four years of renovation have just ended on the impeccable interior of the house
Marc Andreessen has put his Atherton mansion on the market for $33 million, where his neighbors include former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and NBA star Steph Curry.
“While the exterior symmetry and classic look endures, it has evolved into a place of chic sophistication.”
Andreessen purchased the three-story home with 1.5 acres of manicured lawns, a covered patio, a pergola, fountains and a reflecting pool for $16.6 million in 2007.
The tech investor has a $1.7 billion fortune bolstered by the Andreessen Horowitz investment vehicle he founded in 2009 and which has backed rising stars such as Facebook, Coinbase and Slack.
And he’s spent more than $255 million on three homes in Malibu alone since 2021.
Married to real estate heiress Laura Arrillaga since 2006, he purchased a beach house in Escondido for $44.5 million in 2022, then a beach house near the Paradise Cove resort for $34 million.
And he may have grown tired of his Atherton neighbors after losing a battle to stop affordable housing from being built in the neighborhood last year.
Andreessen, 52, who sold Netscape to AOL for $4.2 billion in 1998, wrote about his frustration with America’s housing problem in a 2020 article titled “It’s Time to Build.”
He denounced the “crazy rise in house prices”, calling for more housing projects “in all our best cities, at levels far beyond what we have now”.
“We must want these things more than prevent them,” he thundered.
But he reacted with horror last year when Atherton brought forward plans to introduce affordable housing with 16 three-storey townhouses to his neighborhood.
He joined wealthy neighbors, including NBA star Steph Curry, himself the owner of a $31 million home, in demanding an end to the project.
The Netscape founder, who married real estate heiress Laura Arrillaga in 2006, runs investment vehicle Andreessen Horowitz and has a fortune of $1.7 billion.
In an email to the City Council, he hit the caps lock button to declare that he was “IMMENSELY AGAINST multifamily development” and demanded that they “PLEASE IMMEDIATELY REMOVE” the project plans of the region.
The project was scaled back and may have contributed to a decline in Atherton’s median home sales price from $8.3 million to $5.7 million in the two years leading up to February.
But Andreesson’s house isn’t even the most expensive listed on his Compass website, where $42 million is being asked for a house farther away.
“Recently, we have seen several offers on homes listed for over $20 million, which shows the competitive nature of the luxury market,” said Mary Gullixson, founder of Compass.
