By Neal J. Leitereg
Gateway Inc. co-founder Ted Waitt has sold one of his homes in the Bird Streets of Hollywood Hills West for $15.5 million. The buyer of the 6,200-square-foot home, set on a promontory of more than half an acre, was Latvian philanthropist and filmproducer Boris Teterev.
Built in 2009, the contemporary-style home has a colorful feel with stone walls, vibrant wood finishes and exotic lighting fixtures. Requisite walls of floor-to-ceiling glass have sprawling city, canyon and ocean views.
Multilevel interiors include formal living and dining rooms, a game/media room, a gym and an office. A large custom aquarium forms the backdrop for a curving wet bar.
The master suite has a wall fireplace, a sitting room and sliding glass doors that open to a terrace. There are four bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms in all.
An infinity-edge swimming pool with a raised spa sits at the edge of the promontory. Nearby, an outdoor dining area has a fire feature.
The house previously changed hands in 2011 for $11.525 million, property records show.
Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency and Ryan Davis of John Aaroe Group were the co-listing agents. Davis and Paul Stukin, also of John Aaroe, represented the buyer.
For Waitt, the sale is not a complete exit from the affluent area popular among celebrities and moguls. The 53-year-old entrepreneur and philanthropist owns another property in the Doheny Estates, a sub area of the Bird Streets, which he bought three years ago from film producer Megan Ellison for $20.5 million.
He also owns a home in Beverly Hills that he acquired last year for $10.3 million.
Waitt co-founded the personal computer giant Gateway on his family’s cattle ranch in North Dakota. He left the company in 2005. Among the wealthiest self-made Americans, he operates the Avalon Capital Group, a private investment firm, along with three other philanthropic enterprises.
Teterev, 62, amassed a fortune in the Latvian auto industry before trying his hand in Hollywood. Among his film credits are “Machete Kills” (2013), “Chef” (2014) and “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” (2014).
He and his wife, Inara, are among the biggest philanthropists in Latvia, supporting arts and education through their charitable foundation.