Elon Musk Is Foreclosing on Gene Wilder’s Old House
Come with me, and you’ll be, in a world of possible eviction.
In May 2020, Tesla “founder” and CEO Elon Musk announced his intention to detach himself from his material possessions, including from the roofs over his head. “I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will own no house,” Musk wrote in a tweet, noting that he was closing on the last of seven home sales that would relieve him of his real estate entanglements. However, Musk added the caveat, “Just one stipulation on sale: I own Gene Wilder’s old house. It cannot be torn down or lose any its soul.”
Instead of selling the Bel-Air home that belonged to Wilder until 2007 on Zillow, which, hilariously, is how Musk unloaded his other personal properties, Musk sold what was once the Wilder estate to the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory star’s nephew, Jordan Walker-Pearlman a film director and writer, who spent much of his childhood at the home. In the agreement, Musk also generously loaned Walker-Pearlman and his wife Elizabeth Hunter most of the cash required to cover the $7 million sale. But now, barely four years later, Musk is calling in that debt and beginning the process to repossess the property from Wilder's surviving loved ones.
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Considering Musk’s legendary sensitivity, don’t be surprised if we learn that he informed the current tenants about the foreclosure by DMing them this video:
To clarify, Wilder didn’t sell the property directly to the future head of Twitter in 2007. In 2013, Musk purchased the estate, which was conveniently located across the street from his primary domicile, from the intermediary owners for a reported $6.75 million. It’s unclear what, exactly, Musk did with Wilder’s former Bel-Air home in the intervening years, but when the billionaire began his mansion fire sale in 2020, he stuck to his word about preserving the “soul” of the estate — at least for the time being.
Instead of fetching the highest possible price for the property, Musk reached an agreement with Walker-Pearlman and Hunter wherein he would lend them $7 million to buy the house from him and allow them to live in the estate that created so many cherished memories for Walker-Pearlman. “He could have sold it for so much more,” Walker-Pearlman, told The Wall Street Journal in 2022. “His sensitivity to me can’t be overstated.”
Then, in July, an entity linked to Musk filed a notice of default on the property, the first step in the foreclosure process. Walker-Pearlman and Hunter have, apparently, fallen behind on payments for the massive loan, and Musk is ready to retake the Wilder estate for himself. However, the couple holds no ill will toward Musk for the decision, and they, themselves, have put the property up for sale for $12.95 million.
Walker-Pearlman insists that Musk isn’t being “adversarial or mean” in the dealings, saying of the four years and millions of dollars he spent in his uncle’s old home, “There’s no tragedy here,” adding, “Elon gave us a magical opportunity. I have no complaints.” As for Hunter, Walker-Pearlman reported, “She did not want to continue morally owing Elon anymore. We already owe him such a spiritual debt.”
Clearly, Wilder’s surviving family has nothing but gratitude for the brief time Musk allowed them to enjoy the Hollywood legend’s old home, but at the same time, this news is a little rich considering that Musk himself still has about $13 billion in unpaid loans to seven different banks over his 2022 acquisition of Twitter that aren’t likely to be paid off anytime soon, if ever.
Musk might not have the cash to pay off his debtors, but he may have another incredible investment opportunity that could recoup the billions lost. Morgan Stanley, you ever seen a show on Broadway?
