Nicolas Cage has been tied to Sin City for decades, starring in the movies “Honeymoon in Vegas” and “Leaving Las Vegas.” His primary residence is in Nevada, but as of last month, he now also has access to one of California’s secluded beaches.
Nicolas Cage buys $10.5 million Malibu beach house
The property has access to a secluded beach.
By Rukmini Callimachi
September 17, 2024 at 7:05PM
“Yes, Nicolas Cage bought our home in Malibu,” Lenard Liberman, a co-founder of Liberman Broadcasting, said in a text to the New York Times.
The four-level, nearly 4,000-square-foot home was bought for $10.5 million last month, according to the deed recording the sale, as well as Liberman.
One of Cage’s representatives, Mike Nilon of Stride Management, did not return emails and phone calls seeking comment. Other representatives did not comment on the purchase.
The sale of the property closed Aug. 23 — the same day that his surprise hit “Longlegs” became available for streaming on Prime Video, Apple TV and other platforms. The horror film follows the crime spree of a killer, played by Cage, who leaves cryptic notes signed “Longlegs.” It was released in July and quickly crossed the $100 million threshold at the box office, making it the highest-grossing independent film of 2024 so far, as well as the highest-grossing indie horror film of the past 10 years, according to Variety.
Weeks later, Cage purchased his new home, which had been in the same family since the 1990s.
“My parents would go on weekends and it was my father’s ‘happy place,’” said Liberman, 62, who explained that his father built the home decades ago in the 1990s. “My father passed away and my mom just couldn’t go to the house anymore. Too many memories.”
Liberman and his father, Jose Liberman, founded Liberman Broadcasting in 1987, and it was later renamed LBI Media, which operated as a Spanish-language news and broadcasting company. After emerging from a bankruptcy filing, the company was rebranded as Estrella Media in 2020. Liberman left the broadcaster he helped found but is now the owner of TeleOnce, a TV station in Puerto Rico.
Nestled along a gated drive in Malibu, the home is entered through a private courtyard, which leads to a street-level garage equipped with an elevator. The first floor opens to floor-to-ceiling glass walls overlooking the crashing surf.
On the second floor, there’s a chef’s kitchen. On the third, there are four bedrooms, with the primary one facing the Pacific Ocean, according to the description of the home on the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, a website used to advertise homes for sale.
The property has access to a secluded beach — “which I am told he liked,” Liberman said of Cage.
It also has a rooftop deck, which is rare in Malibu, an area with stringent building regulations.
“We have height limitations in Malibu, so unless they are grandfathered in, it’s hard to get a rooftop deck,” said Chris Cortazzo, a real estate agent with Compass and a top producer in Malibu, who has represented other celebrities in their home searches, but who was not involved in Cage’s transaction.
The sale fell just short of the offering price of $10.75 million, according to the MLS. The deed, which was recorded Aug. 23, listed the seller as Liberman’s mother, Esther Liberman, a trustee of the Liberman Trust, and the buyer as the Kundry Trust.
According to voting records, Cage’s primary residence is in Nevada, where he filmed several of his best known films, including “Leaving Las Vegas” — a portrayal of the unspooling life of a troubled alcoholic, which garnered him an Oscar. The property from where he is registered to vote in Las Vegas is owned by the same Kundry Trust.
The street in Malibu where Cage’s new home is situated is popular with celebrities because it has restricted access, said Irene Dazzan-Palmer, a listing agent with the brokerage the Agency who represented the Liberman family in the sale alongside her son Sandro Dazzan.
Additionally, the beach house that Cage bought included an empty lot next to it, creating a natural buffer in a part of Malibu where homes are typically side by side.
“It’s like you’re on a corner with no neighbors — so if you’re a celeb, that’s a big plus,” said Dazzan-Palmer, who declined to discuss details of the transaction, including the buyer’s identity.
Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
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Rukmini Callimachi
The New York Times
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