An inside look at a $55 million mansion in America’s wealthiestzip code that demonstrates the new style of living

An extraordinary home in Atherton, Calif., isn’t surprising. It is the country’s most

expensive zip code, after all: home to “high-profile residents who want to keep a low

profile,” as I once wrote. But it appears “the Atherton,” a stunning, sprawling mansion,

mirrors the idyllic town it’s named after.

The home sits on Tuscaloosa Avenue, atop a 1.42-acre lot. Newly built this year, it has nine

bedrooms and 15 bathrooms.

“88 Tuscaloosa really is the showpiece, the grande dame, or whatever you want to call it” of the opulent Northern California town, Butch Haze of Compass, who is one of the listing agents, told Fortune.

BRIAN KITTS/COURTESY OF COMPASS

It demonstrates a new style of living, he added: a house and resort. It has artisan handpainted doors, a Bocci chandelier, and floor-to-ceiling windows. If that doesn’t mean much to you, it has a movie theater with leather chairs, an equipped gym and spa, a tennis court, and a pool and accompanying pool house, as well as a lounge with a small bar and pool table. Basically, everything you could want—all naturally gated by stunningly tall trees.

BRIAN KITTS/COURTESY OF COMPASS

Not only that, it’s located near some of the best private schools, the downtown area, and an

exclusive club that apparently everyone belongs to. And it isn’t far from Silicon Valley and

San Francisco.

“Everything is conducive to the lifestyle that people in this price point expect,” the other

listing agent, Omar Maissen, also with Compass, said.

“Lifestyle” is definitely a defining term in all of California. In Southern California, the

ultrarich are digging deep for it. “Lower levels,” rather than basements, is how the wealthy

prefer to refer to them, Ernie Carswell, a luxury real estate agent with Douglas Elliman,

previously told me.

They house billiard rooms, wine caves, bowling alleys, movie theaters, gyms, and spas—not

too different from the posh home we’re talking about.

Those sorts of “iceberg homes” were a thing in London, too, long before now. Maybe the

people of California are inspired by architecture from beyond. A mansion built by a

billionaire, or a “cliffside Palace of Versailles,” as the Wall Street Journal called it, recently

went up for sale in San Diego, with a price tag of $108 million.

For its part, the Atherton has been for sale for about 30 days and has had around six

showings so far.

The seller is actually a developer; his firm did everything from the design to the build

itself, which isn’t typically how things are done. He’s a technology entrepreneur too.

This was kind of a passion project for him, Haze explained. But it isn’t easy to build in

California, let alone Atherton, where it’s predominantly zoned for single-family homes.

Atherton is actually home to a multimillionaire basketball star and a billionaire venture

capitalist, among other elite, of course, who on two separate occasions opposed change

that was coming in the form of multifamily homes.

So the seller who happens to be a developer had some challenges along the way. Maybe

that’s part of why it’s priced so. But paying that price brings you into an affluent club, as

Haze pointed out.

And it just so happens that supercar maker Ferrari is borrowing the house this weekend for

an event for its top clientele to showcase some hot rides. A breathtaking home filled with

remarkable cars—what could be better?

The broader housing world turned upside down over the last couple of years or so mostly

because of high home prices and mortgage rates; sales have been depressed, to say the

least. But according to Haze, it could be changing and maybe this house will be a sign.

“Atherton seems to be a bellwether for what’s coming down the road for real estate,” he

said. “It’s always been that way, where we see the high-end luxury market move first and

then everything follows. We saw a lot of properties in Atherton sit on the market, and in

just the last 30 days start to move.”