Which one will you choose? Two tech billionaire homes have come up for sale — but only one comes with its own Batcave
The Batman films inspired a secret lair in one London mansion, while a painstakingly-restored property in California has all the charm of the south of France.
There’s an argument to be made that many little boys, if they grew up to be men with more money than sense, would build their own Batman-style lair. And that, I presume, is what happened to the Anglo-Russian tech billionaire Sergey Frolovichev. His London mansion, now on the market with Draper London, has its very own secret ‘Batcave’ in the basement.
The £29.95 million mansion's basement was inspired by Frolovichev’s favourite film, The Dark Night. Previously instrumental in the inner workings of dating apps Bumble and Badoo, the business man’s property is located in Greenaway Gardens in Hampstead. It was designed by architects and interior designers at SHH.
The 1,347 square metre property has seven bedrooms, a media room and health spa, in addition to its superhero selling point. A secret entrance concealed by retracting floorboards welcomes you to the former, just for more pizazz. There is also a swimming pool that drains to become a dance floor, wonderfully convenient for if you ever intended on having a paddle. but suddenly find the urge to break out into a paso doble mid-stroke.
The landscaped gardens feature mini terraces of planting.
Every Batman fan's ultimate dream.
The house was originally built by English architect Chalres Henry Bourne Quennell in around 1934. The majority of his original Arts and Crafts-style design details have since been lost.
Craig Draper of Draper London calls the property a ‘unique trophy mansion… that will appeal to an ultra-high-net-worth individual.'
The perfect spot in which to watch your favourite superhero film.
A birds-eye-view of the property.
If you are not a The Dark Night fan, however, no bother. May I, instead, propose a different tech billionaire mansion on the other side of the pond. In California, 600, Moore Road, Woodside, is on the market for a guide price of $14.9 million (about £11.08 million) — and it has no connection to Batman at all.
Instead it has been inspired by the French sense of art de vivre, a nod to its owner’s heritage — not a natural bedfellow to the global epicentre of technology and venture capital, but there you have it.
Global tech investor Jeff Clavier and his wife Bernadette, a director from Stanford's Graduate School of Business, have taken an anti-Frolovichev approach, choosing to restore the hidden grandeur from the property’s past. Featuring a stone villa, cottage, guest house, detached fitness center and ample gardens, there’s not much this property doesn’t have (except a Batcave, the couple instead chose to convert the basement into a 3,000-bottle temperature controlled cellar. Much more chic, in my humble opinion). It also has a pool, tennis court and, from the look's of the listing, a golf course.
A very different tech billionaire's mansion.
Lit up at night, this Californian property certainly has the 'wow factor'.
Set across 3.2 acres, former residents of Woodside include Steve Jobs and Michelle Pfeiffer — but not Bruce Wayne. Bernadette describes the property ‘a magical and sophisticated family heaven.’
If you can’t decide between the two, may I suggest purchasing both? Sunny French-inspired days in the tech hub of the world when visiting California, and rainy weeks nerding out in the Batcave in London. You really can have it all, for a price.
Tradition is at the heart of this Woodside property.
