Billionaire investor is selling Walis Neff's estate in California, the size of America.

Two years ago, the cost of the Italian Renaissance-style villa in the suburb of San Gabriel Valley, San Marino, owned by Goodwin Gaw, was nearly $22 million. Now, the co-founder, managing partner, and chairman of the Hong Kong-based private investment company Gaw Capital Partners, which manages over $33 billion in global real estate, is asking for exactly $17 million for the1.8-acre property. This is $11 million more than he paid for the place back in2004, but the property was completely renovated in2005, when it was showcased as a show home in Pasadena, with an updated kitchen, a new theater, and upgraded landscape and mechanical systems. The spacious courtyard is adorned with intricate stone carvings.

Originally built and designed by architect Wallace Neff in the late 1920s for Harriet Skinner, the widow of James Skinner, one of the founders of Sears, Roebuck and Co., the cream stucco house with a red tile roof is called "The Mrs. James Skinner House."

In the 1940s, it also served as the residence of J.B. Van Nuys, the grandson of businessman Isaac Newton Van Nuys, the founder of what is now the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles. The property is hidden behind walls and gates, featuring a circular driveway and a paved courtyard, enhanced by a decorative stone fountain.

As for the main house, the features include:

• a two-story foyer with a marble floor in a checkered pattern and a curved wrought-iron staircase leading to formal living and dining rooms
• a beautiful studio office
• a kitchen with a breakfast island, new appliances, a pantry, and a separate dining room
• cinema
• gym
• partially finished basement with a wine cellar that has temperature control for 2500 bottles

On the upper level, the master bedroom features a separate lounge area, a walk-in closet, and a luxurious bathroom with a double sink and a large freestanding bathtub; outside, there is a resort-like lawn and formal gardens, as well as a 50-foot pool and spa surrounded by a sun terrace, a desirable north-south tennis court, and several spots perfect for outdoor relaxation and entertainment. The backyard includes a 50-foot pool and spa.

Go is known for his purchase and restoration of the bankrupt Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles in 2005, and in 2023, Forbes magazine named him one of the richest people in Hong Kong with a family fortune of over $1.7 billion. The search is being handled by Brent Chang from Compass. Clickhereto see more photos of 975 Orlando Road.