Uber-music producer Rick Rubin (in)famously lost his two Malibu homes to the unforgiving flames of last year’s Woolsey Fire, but he hasn’t abandoned the seaside city just yet. On the contrary, records show the legendary Def Jam Records co-founder has doubled down on his local property holdings, having splashed out more than $8.1 million for a surprisingly modest — if still prohibitively expensive — blufftop house that sits atop the Point Dume cliffside, looming directly over the Pacific Ocean.
Owned for decades by a non-famous family, the midcentury ranch-style residence was built in 1965 and features a two-car attached garage, a refreshingly unpretentious interior with exposed ceiling beams, unstained hardwood floors and walls of glass drinking in the near-infinite views.
There are four bedrooms and three baths in just under 2,300 square feet of living space; the fully renovated master suite includes a walk-in closet, spa-like bathroom with radiant heated floors that opens to a private patio with outdoor shower. The .83-acre property notably does not offer a swimming pool or direct beach access, though the sandy shores of Zuma Beach are just a quick jog away.
While it’s not publicly known if Rubin intends to rebuild his two fire-ravaged Malibu homes — one of them also located on Point Dume, the other further up in the mountains above Malibu — he still presides over a healthy handful of other Los Angeles-area properties. He continues to own a near-mythic, multi-acre estate in L.A.’s Laurel Canyon — known simply as “the Mansion” — and he’s also got a 9,000 sq. ft. mansion just above the iconic Sunset Strip. And then, of course, there’s his legendary Shangri-La studio in Malibu, which managed to survive Woolsey’s wrath.
Chris Cortazzo of Compass held the listing; Don Richstone of Coldwell Banker repped Rubin.