Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk has filed for foreclosure on Gene Wilder’s former Los Angeles home after Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The star’s nephew, Jordan Walker-Pearlman, bought the Bel Air home in 2020.
Walker-Pearlman, however, shows no animosity toward Musk and appears to be cooperating in the legal process surrounding his property. “I have absolutely no ill will toward Elon, quite the opposite. He gave me the opportunity (with the support of my wife) to reclaim this home and restore it to the way Gene, Gilda and I experienced it,” he said in a statement released The Hollywood Reporter.
Four years ago, Musk sold the four-bedroom, five-bathroom Los Angeles home at 10930 Chalon Road for $7 million, but only after lending Walker-Pearlman $6.7 million to complete the purchase so he and his wife could return to a home he had known from his childhood.
“It was an opportunity that allowed me to make my autobiographical film, The Requiem Boogiein the house where so many childhood memories actually took place. It was a very special and magical four years. Together and in coordination with Mr. Musk and his team, we took the steps we are now taking,” he added in his statement.
Wilder, known for his work in films such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Frankenstein Junior And The wild wild saddledied in 2016 at the age of 83, years after living in the Bel Air house with his wife Gilda Radner.
Wilder sold the Bel Air home in 2007 for $2.725 million. Musk bought the home in 2013 for $6.75 million, but wanted to sell the property seven years later. The financial impact of the 2023 Hollywood strikes apparently left Wilder’s nephew behind on his loan payments.
Walker-Pearlman said his home is not under any immediate legal threat because Musk “never said he was going to foreclose or gave any date. I believe some of his associates have filed the necessary paperwork to protect his interests, and that is more than understandable. Our relationship with him is cooperative and communicative and one of gratitude,” he said.
Walker-Pearlman added that he and his wife have made loan payments over the years, but Musk still has money and deserves to be compensated. “I am a spiritually ethical person, or at least I would like to believe so, and after several years of living between the past and the present and in a kind of dream world in my parents’ house, I believed it was time to move on to the next chapter.”
Walker-Pearlman and his wife have put the 2,700-square-foot property overlooking the Bel Air Country Club back on the market for $12.95 million.
“Step into a piece of Hollywood history with this charming residence once owned by legendary actor Gene Wilder. Nestled in the exclusive Bel Air neighborhood, this timeless estate, designed by famed architect Robert Byrd, offers unparalleled views of the Bel Air Country Club and exudes distinctive character that blends classic design with modern potential,” the Westside Estate Agency listing states.
The selling agent states that the historic home on a 0.78-acre lot could either be renovated or demolished for a modern construction.
