John and Joan Hotchkis were widely recognized in Los Angeles for their civic leadership, financial success, and dedicated philanthropy in the arts and education. The prominent pair shared a legacy of achievements: He cofounded the investment firms Trust Company of the West and Hotchkis & Wiley, served as an Olympic Games commissioner, and was a competitive auto and toboggan racer; she was a dedicated arts patron, a former vice president of Sotheby’s, and a trustee of the Kennedy Center.
John passed away in 2017 at age 86, and Joan followed last year at age 88, and now, their longtime estate in lower Bel Air is making headlines. Dubbed Villa Cresta, the property has officially hit the market for $65 million, with David Kramer and Andrew Buss of Compass handling the listing.

An elegant living room has arched doorways framing scenic outdoor views.
Nils Timm
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Originally built for the couple in 2001 by noted architect Marc Appleton, the Tuscan-inspired country compound rests on a four-acre parcel featuring sweeping city-to-ocean views and a private hillside vineyard producing Sangiovese grapes. A combined total of six bedrooms and a dozen bathrooms in roughly 15,000 square feet are spread across the main home and a detached guesthouse.
Stately gates open to a cypress-lined driveway that passes by a waterfall and an olive tree grove before arriving at a spacious graveled motor court with parking for 25 vehicles. Towering glass and wrought-iron double doors open into a groin-vaulted entrance hallway, which flows to living and dining rooms featuring fireplaces with imported stone mantels dating back centuries. Other highlights include a handsome wood-paneled library beneath a ceiling adorned with blue and yellow glazed ceramic tiles and a rustic kitchen sporting a large center island and a fireside breakfast banquette.

A 1920s-style disco wrapped in crimson drapes features leopard-print seating.
Nils Timm
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A main-level primary suite flaunts dual bathrooms, an office, a study, and its own garden with a hot tub, while the lower level has a gym, a wine cellar and tasting area, and a 1920s-style disco. Rounding it all off are the park-like grounds, which host an infinity-edge pool and several loggias ideal for alfresco entertaining.
The Hotchkis family has been downsizing its real estate holdings over the past year. Per Mansion Global, the couple’s vacation home in Oceanside, north of San Diego, hit the market in April 2025 for $11 million, just months before Joan’s death.
Click here for more photos of the Bel Air residence.
Authors
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Wendy Bowman
Wendy Bowman is a real estate writer at Robb Report. Before that, she was a freelancer for Modern Luxury and several other media outlets, where she primarily covered luxury properties for…



