Who Inherited the Playboy Mansion After Hugh Hefner Died?

Hugh Hefner is widely known as the founder of the Playboy empire, the editor-in-chief of the controversial Playboy magazine. Hefner, who died in 2017, was looked upon as both an innovator and a figure of some scandal, with his hedonistic lifestyle attracting a great deal of media attention throughout his life. Even though Hefner has been gone for a few years now, questions linger about his estate – specifically, about who inherited the iconic Playboy Mansion after Hefner died.

Hugh Hefner’s Playboy empire was successful and controversial

Hefner was born in Chicago in 1926. Although he had a solid middle-class upbringing, Hefner had big ambitions for his life and career. He started working as a copywriter for Esquire Magazine but quit the publication in the early ’50s in order to pursue his dreams of launching his own magazine, according to IMDb.

After raising money through a brisk investing campaign, Hefner launched Playboy magazine in 1953. Notably, Marilyn Monroe was the featured model in the very first issue of Playboy.

Playboy was controversial from the start, with many slamming the overt sexuality and “swinging” lifestyle that the publication promoted. Over the years, Hefner himself became a pop culture icon. He was often pictured wearing a smoking jacket and wearing a pilot’s cap, a look that became synonymous with his own personal brand.

Hefner eventually expanded the Playboy brand to include Playboy Clubs, merchandise, and, of course, the iconic Playboy Mansion, where he lived and hosted wild parties. 

Who inherited the Playboy Mansion after Hugh Hefner’s death?

The Playboy Mansion is a lavish home in California that was originally established by Hefner in 1959. It wasn’t until the ’70s that the Mansion gained prominence, mainly due to the rumors of wild parties hosted by Hefner in the space.

Throughout the ’80s, ’90s, and into the early 2000s, Hefner maintained the image of the Playboy Mansion as a hotspot for celebrities and models alike. 

When Hefner died in 2017 at the age of 91, many fans wondered what would happen to the bulk of his estate—and who would inherit the iconic Playboy Mansion. According to Nicki Swift, while Hefner left his fortune to several beneficiaries, including his daughter, Christie Hefner and two of his sons, as well as his widow, Crystal Harris, the Playboy Mansion itself had actually been sold for $100 million in 2016, the year before Hefner’s death. 

The Playboy Mansion is still an iconic institution 

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Playboy Mansion was purchased in 2016 by Daren Metropoulos, the son of billionaire investor C. Dean Metropoulos and principal at the investment firm Metropoulos & Co. At the time, the publication notes that the $100 million sale was the biggest home sale ever recorded in Los Angeles County. Interestingly, Hefner was allowed to remain in residence at the Mansion for the remainder of his life, according to some specific terms of the sale. Of course, the iconic Playboy founder died just about one year later.

These days, the Playboy Mansion is still known as a hotbed of decadence and indulgence to pop culture fans all around the world, even though it is primarily run as a place of business. The Things notes that the Playboy Mansion is currently in the works to receive a major renovation, with much of the same decor still in place from the ’70s and ’80s, when Hefner was living and throwing lavish parties in the Mansion.