What $25 million in black gold, Texas tea will buy today—the most expensive residence in the United
In 1962, the fictional Jed Clampett discovered oil—black Gold, Texas tea—on his rural property in the American south. After becoming a millionaire overnight (his fictional fortune was estimated to be $25 million), Clampett moved his entire family into a mansion in the fashionable luxury Los Angeles neighborhood of Beverly Hills. Much of the TV series “The Beverly Hillbillies” was filmed on location at the Kirkeby Mansion (exterior shots), the fictional home of the Clampetts complete with the cement pond (swimming pool). The estate was designed and built in 1933 by architect Summer Spaulding and was purchased shortly after by hotelier Arnold Kirkeby. The house is actually located in Bel Air, not Beverly Hills.
Now the historic estate is on the market again. (Incidentally, Donna Douglas, who played the daughter Ellie May Clampett, became a luxury real estate agent after the hit show was cancelled in 1971 after a 9 year run, but is not related to this sale. The Kirkeby/”Beverly Hillbillies” Mansion was listed for a cool $350 million—making it for now the most expensive piece of residential real estate in the United States. (Photo is by Rogers & Cowan)
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For Sale: The Clampett Mansion from ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’
By Chris Morris
Fortune
August 8, 2017
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