39-bedroom Bel Air estate dubbed “Crown Jewel of Los Angeles” listed as US’s most expensive home

18 May 2026 , 23:13

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A Bel Air home on the market as the US’s most expensive residential property listing is reportedly the West Coast base of a Qatari billionaire and former prime minister.

The 39-bedroom Los Angeles estate went on sale last month with a $400m (£300m) asking price that surpassed the $240m (£180m) set in 2019 for a New York penthouse.

The home, which was completed in 2018, has long been associated with Qatar’s ruling Al Thani royal dynasty, but it was unclear who resided in or used the 70,000 sq ft property.

The house has been revealed as a haven of Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the businessman and power broker better known as HBJ, the Sunday Times reported.

The sprawling property is located near the Bel-Air Country Club qhiukiqrihtinv

HBJ was for two decades one of the Gulf kingdom’s most powerful men, holding the posts of prime minister and foreign minister to oversee the country’s interventionist foreign policy and sovereign wealth spending.

As chief executive of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), he became known as “the man who bought London” for acquiring UK trophy assets.

The 39-bedroom megamansion could become the most expensive home ever sold in America if it achieves its asking price

Under his leadership, the QIA took large stakes in Harrods, the London Stock Exchange, and the Shard.

The Bel Air listing has led to speculation about why the secretive royal may have put the house on the market and whether he needs the money.

The decade-long construction of the luxurious property was completed in 2018

Possible factors behind the sale include his energy-rich country taking a sharp economic hit from the Iran war, which has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian attacks have virtually paralyzed Qatar’s vital gas industry and halted exports for more than two months. The country is estimated to get around three-fifths of its revenue from gas-related exports.

The listing refers to the property as ‘The Crown Jewel of Los Angeles’

HBJ’s wealth has also been under scrutiny in a court battle with Paddy McKillen, the Irish property investor, who last year accused the Qatari royal and his Maybourne Hotel Group of failing to pay for expensive renovations made to hotels, including Claridge’s.

The London Court of International Arbitration was reported to have awarded Mr. McKillen between £700m and £800m in the case, but legal action continues in California.

Maybourne has said it strongly denies Mr. McKillen’s claims and would contest them.

Part of the US case rests on a technical point of whether HBJ falls under its jurisdiction.

Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani became known as ‘the man who bought London’

Mr. McKillen’s legal team has argued HBJ must do, because the Bel Air mansion on Chalon Road is his house.

They have offered evidence including an Instagram post from three and a half years ago in which HBJ is alleged to have posted a photo of himself at the property with the caption: “Today at my house.”

Mr. McKillen told the Sunday Times that Qatar’s cash flow “had dried up and they’re liquidating assets.”

Speaking about his dispute with HBJ, he said: “The world knows we won a tremendous case and they’ve had to liquidate assets to pay. The only thing they can do is sell Western assets as fast as possible.”