Oakley’s billionaire founder is the latest victim of the sluggish luxury housing market—but the profit he could still make shows an underlying problem
- James Jannard, the billionaire founder of Oakley, has re-listed his Beverly Hills megamansion for $65 million, down from the original $68 million price listing from June 2024. Despite the price drop, Jannard stands to make a significant profit since he purchased the property for $19.9 million in 2009. This trend of wealthy sellers, including Jannard, dropping prices highlights a broader market correction where luxury buyers prioritize value and long-term security over vanity pricing.
Even the wealthiest Americans are contending with today’s housing market. Take James Jannard, the billionaire founder of luxury eyewear and apparel brand Oakley, as an example.
Jannard, who’s worth an estimated $1.3 billion according to Forbes, just re-listed his Beverly Hills megamansion for an eye-popping $65 million. Still, that’s a drop from the $68 million he originally listed it for in June 2024.
He’s fallen victim to a challenging trend in the luxury housing market where many of the country’s most lavish and expensive homes are being priced too high when they hit the market. And now, Jannard stands to lose out on the proceeds he was expecting when he first listed the house.
For what it’s worth, Jannard paid $19.9 million for the property in December 2009, so even if he manages to find a buyer at the $65 million asking price, he’ll make a pretty penny for the sprawling five-bed, nine-bath concrete megamansion that stretches more than 18,000 square feet and nearly two acres in one of the most sought-after neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Orange County-based luxury real-estate firm The Altman Brothers represented the listing last year.
The current listing agent on the property is Aaron Kirman with Christie’s International Real Estate, who has several listings of more than $100 million in the Los Angeles area. Kirman and Jannard didn’t immediately respond to Fortune’s requests for comment about the property.
Other ultra-rich home sellers have recently been forced to drop their listing prices. In May, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck dropped the price of their $60 million Beverly Hills mansion by $8 million, and last year, billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch slashed the price of his Manhattan penthouse by nearly 40% to $38.5 million.
The housing market factors affecting sellers
While we’re not fully out of a seller’s market, the tides have begun turning in favor of buyers as listings stay on the market longer and price cuts become more common, according to Realtor.com.
For that reason, price drops aren’t surprising, especially in the saturated Los Angeles luxury market where buyers have more leverage, Anthony Luna, CEO of LA-based real-estate advisory Coastline Equity, told Fortune.
“Square footage and celebrity status don’t justify inflated pricing anymore,” he said. “Buyers want smart design, upgraded systems, and long-term value.”
The mansion tax in LA, which applies an additional 4% tax to property sales of at least $5 million and a 5.5% tax for properties north of $10 million, further complicates real-estate sales and pricing. The cost of the tax, which is typically paid by the seller, is separate from a home’s sale price and can be a “massive amount of money,” Selling Sunset star and Oppenheim Group agent Emma Hernan previously told Fortune. She also described it as a “nightmare” for sellers and agents alike.
Hernan said she warns her clients about the mansion tax before they prepare to sell. Take a $5 million home, for example. The seller would have to pay an extra $200,000 they “didn’t really factor in when they bought the home because the mansion tax wasn’t in play,” Hernan said.
The trend of luxury-home price drops like that of Jannard, Murdoch, and Lopez say something bigger about the housing market: a larger correction, Luna said.
“The luxury market is no longer about vanity. It’s about value and security,” he said. “Buyers are doing the math, and they’re calling the bluff.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com