Someone’s shaking up their real estate portfolio.
A Malibu mansion, long linked to two top distributors of Herbalife dietary supplements, has sold and is set to become a blinged-out clubhouse.
Listed late last year for $8.5 million, the Mediterranean contemporary with an ocean view on roughly 2.3 acres has sold for $8.35 million, according to an announcement from the listing brokerage.
The new owners are reported to be the privately funded Society 1 club — a socialite group founded by members of Southern California’s Asian community and represented by Netflix’s “Bling Empire” star Kane Lim.
“Bling Empire,” which began streaming in January, is the real-life version of “Crazy Rich Asians,” following a group of wealthy friends in Los Angeles who are all Asian.
Lim, born to Singaporean billionaires, amassed his reported $20 million net worth from his family — which made its fortune in real estate and shipping — and his own entrepreneurship, including real-estate investment. He has a shoe collection reportedly worth $300,000.
In a Society 1 news release announcing the purchase, Lim — in addition to mentioning that Lady Gaga lives in a home next door — said he hopes the home can be a base where Society 1 can continue to grow.
Parts of the six-bedroom spread will be demolished, and the property will be used as a social space for members, as well as a venue for events.
The home’s previous chapter dates to 1994, when then-couple and Herbalife evangelists John and Lori Tartol purchased it. Following a divorce, the house transferred to ownership by Lori alone.
The Tartols reportedly ranked as part of the “Chairman’s Club,” the second tier from the top of the organization, for their level of distribution. The home became a symbol of their success.
“Herbalife’s afforded me the chance to live the life that I’ve only dreamt possible. And not even — I could never even imagine this,” said Lori in a promotional video with footage of the home’s backyard and pool. The video even included footage of John playing piano in the living room with windows behind him.
Still, Herbalife has previously found itself the subject of some major Wall Street beef. Bill Ackman, of Pershing Square Capital Management, feuded with investor Carl Icahn over the company’s legitimacy before exiting his billion-dollar short bet against Herbalife in 2018, after years of alleging the company was a pyramid scheme. In 2016, Herbalife had to cough up a $200 million fine for “misleading” distributors, but the Federal Trade Commission investigation did not call it a pyramid scheme and stopped short of shutting it down.
In its most recent report, dated Nov. 2, 2021, the latest quarter ending Sept. 30 had a net income of $117 million on revenue of $1.4 billion.
The gated home, which comes with a private walkway to Zuma Beach, measures 6,200 square feet and gets lots of natural light. Its features include a master suite with two private baths, two walk-in closets and a sitting room.
The formal living room has a fireplace and the kitchen comes newly remodeled with stainless steel appliances.
Outside, there’s even a new driveway that heads to a three-car garage and six extra parking spaces — as well as a terrace that’s home to the pool and spa, and a private deck on an upper level of the home.
Cormac and Wailani O’Herlihy of Sotheby’s International Realty — Malibu Brokerage — had the listing.
