With the passing of Playboy founder and living legend Hugh Hefner, a big question on everyone's lips has been what's to become of his other most famous (or infamous) creation: the Playboy Mansion.
Originally built in 1927 and bought by Playboy in 1971, the mansion instantly became something of a legend thanks to the lavish, sometimes debaucherous parties that Hefner would host there.
The mansion has 22 rooms, including a wine cellar with a Prohibition-era secret door, a screening room complete with a working pipe organ, a massive game room, and even a freaking miniature ZOO!
Of course there's also the infamous grotto, with a massive swimming pool and waterfall area.
There's even an entirely separate building for games! It has an arcade, pool tables, and pretty much anything else you could think to play.
Of course, it's not as glamorous as you might think either. In her 2010 memoir of being married to Hefner, Isabella St. James mentions that the house is in various states of disrepair, with mismatched furniture and accommodations that are falling apart.
So it stands to reason that they might have a hard time selling it off right? Well it turns out that's not the case; it was actually bought all the way back in 2016, by an especially surprising buyer!
The details around the purchase are pretty interesting...
You might not know the name Daren Metropoulos, but you're probably pretty familiar with one of the brands that he owns.
The son of C. Dean Metropoulos, the Greece-born private-equity investor, Daren works for his father and currently heads up brands like Pabst, Chef Boyardee, and Hostess (the makers of Twinkies)!
Most importantly (to this story at least), Metropoulos is already the owner of the Playboy Mansion! He bought it back in 2016 for a whopping $100 Million, with the main condition being that the deal wouldn't be complete until Hefner passed away, meaning Hef could keep living there until his death.
He's already said he plans to renovate and update the entire place, addressing many of the issues St. James mentioned in her book. As to what he'll be doing with the property itself, that has yet to be announced.
Source: Time Magazine