French Montana Lists His Los Angeles Mansion
Karim Kharbouch, better known by his stage name French Montana, is bidding adieu to his 1.35-acre compound in Los Angeles’s exclusive Hidden Hills neighborhood, asking $22.75 million for the seven-bedroom, nine-bath home in one of the city’s most celebrity-studded communities.
The Moroccan-born rapper bought the home in late 2020 from the basketball player Paul George, an all-star forward for the Los Angeles Clippers. He paid $8.4 million, which was something of a bargain: Mr. George had initially asked $9.5 million for the property, which is tucked behind gates on grounds that include a full-size basketball court, a fire pit, pool and spa with stone decking, and garages for five cars, and was willing to take the $1 million price cut after the property languished on the market for six months.
The current listing is quite a price jump, but the luxury real estate agent Tomer Fridman, who is representing Mr. Montana through Compass’s The Fridman Group, said considering the estate’s massive footprint of nearly 16,000 square feet, it’s right in line with Hidden Hills prices.
“It’s not only about the size of the house, it’s also the grounds, “ said Mr. Fridman, whose other clients include the Kardashian-Jenner clan, Britney Spears and Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne. “You’ve got over an acre. You’ve got a sports court and a spa in the guesthouse down below. There’s everything you need for the California lifestyle.”
The median price per square foot in Hidden Hills is currently $1,365 per square foot, according to movoto.com.
Mr. Montana, 38, is the founder of Coke Boys Records, previously known as Cocaine City Records. He was born in Casablanca and moved with his family to the South Bronx when he was 13. He got his start as a battle rapper, and in 2012 signed with Sean Combs’s Bad Boy Records and Rick Ross’s Maybach Music Group. His 2017 hit, the diamond single “Unforgettable,” reached the No. 1 slot on Billboard’s Hot Rap songs chart.
This is the second home Mr. Montana has sold in Hidden Hills: In 2021 he sold an 8,600-square-foot mansion with a resort-style backyard for $5 million. He purchased that home, in the 11-house gated community of Mureau Estates, from the pop star Selena Gomez in 2016, and later added a $400,000 custom recording studio.
Mr. Montana is choosing to sell again, said Mr. Fridman, because he is now looking to take his real estate portfolio global.
“He’s looking for something new in Miami, maybe something else in Los Angeles, something probably in New York, and then also overseas, probably in Paris,” said Mr. Fridman. “He’s diversifying. This is a big house.”
So big, in fact, that its great room alone is a gargantuan 4,000 square feet, with high ceilings, motorized skylights and sliding glass walls offering sweeping views of the property’s grounds.
“Hidden Hills normally does not have views. But this property does have views,” Mr. Fridman said.
There’s also a breakfast room with a fireplace off the chef’s kitchen as well as a formal dining room with high-beam ceilings; a game room, home theater, gym (with steam shower) and a walk-in wine cellar. In the primary suite, Mr. Montana has a two-sided fireplace and two massive walk-in closets; the primary suite’s bathroom features an all-stone bath with a built-in sofa.
“L.A. homes need to have certain programming, and that indoor-outdoor flow is so important,” said Mr. Fridman. “This is how we live in L.A. and the house works so well for the L.A. lifestyle.”
