The tech billionaire Darwin Deason has spent about $86 million creating his own personal Versailles.
It took years to finish the Sand Castle, his Pacific Ocean-front estate in La Jolla, California.
Deason has listed the property for a potentially record-breaking sum: $108 million.
Darwin Deason is poised to break a record.
The tech billionaire has listed his opulent estate overlooking the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla, California, for $108 million.
If it sells for even close to that price, the sale will more than double the San Diego County record, set by the private-equity billionaire Egon Durban, who spent $44.1 million on a property in 2023.
After Deason sold his company, Affiliated Computer Services, to Xerox in 2009 for $6.4 billion, he spent about $26 million on the house and a neighboring parcel of land, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Over about six years, Deason spent about $60 million turning the lots into a sand-colored, balcony-laden, 13,000-square-foot mansion, the Journal said.
The billionaire was inspired by the French Palace of Versailles and Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, a five-star hotel in the South of France that’s a favorite of celebrities. The house’s ornate details include glittering chandeliers, gold-accent ceilings, mosaics, marble floors, and antique statues.
Deason mainly uses the 10-bedroom property, located at 1900 Spindrift Drive and dubbed the Sand Castle, as a vacation retreat. Based in Dallas, he has other vacation homes in Texas and Mexico and a yacht. Deason, 84, is worth $1.3 billion as of October 23 and has three children, per Forbes.
“In the history of La Jolla, there has never been and will never be another property built on the waterfront like the Sand Castle,” the listing agents Brett Dickinson and Ross Clark of Compass told Business Insider via email.
The property contains a seven-bedroom main house and a three-bedroom guest house inspired by Versailles’ Le Petit Trianon.
The courtyard of the Sand Castle mansion. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
The main house has a two-story entry hall, a wraparound terrace, and an oval-shaped dining room that seats 16 under a 19th-century crystal chandelier.
A dinning room in the Sand Castle mansion. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
Fireplaces throughout the main house were imported from France.
The living room of the Sand Castle mansion. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
The home has several custom mosaics by New Ravenna.
A sitting area overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
There are 10 bedrooms. The primary bedroom suite features its own oceanfront terrace, private study, and separate his-and-her bathrooms.
A bedroom in the mansion that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
Nearly every piece of furniture in the home was custom-made.
A bedroom in the mansion with a private balcony. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
There are 18- and 24-karat gold details throughout the mansion, which has 14 full bathrooms and three half-bathrooms.
A bathroom in the mansion. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
A nautical-themed bar is a nod to Deason’s yacht, Apogee, the New York Post reported.
A bar in the Sand Castle mansion. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
The bar has walnut finishings, onyx marble, and 18th-century mermaid statues.
A bar in the Sand Castle mansion. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
The mansion also has a pool and a fitness center.
An outdoor terrace at the Sand Castle mansion. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
The pool is lined with blue Thassos marble tiles, per Bloomberg.
An overview of the Sand Castle backyard. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
The mansion has two cabanas: One for men and one for women.
A terrace and the pool of the mansion. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
The Sand Castle house also has a beachfront kitchen.
The pool is within steps of the Pacific Ocean. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
An elevator whisks residents and guests down to the private beach, which is elevated 10 feet above the ground.
An outdoor dining area at the Sand Castle mansion. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
For the private beach, Deason imported soft white sand from Augusta National Golf Club, which hosts the Masters Tournament. He told the Journal he spent $40,000 on the sand alone.
The mansion’s beachfront patio terrace. Courtesy of Austin Ashline of Future Home Photos
