Sylvester Stallone made a striking real-estate move in 1992, selling his sprawling 23-acre White Eagle Ranch in California for $4 million in cash while simultaneously expanding his property interests in Colorado. The ranch in Hidden Valley had been transformed by Stallone from a relatively modest property into an elaborate equestrian estate with 29 horse stalls, a 7,500-square-foot log cabin, guest house, swimming pools, a polo field and even a horse Jacuzzi. Yet after listing it for $7.95 million in 1990 and later cutting the asking price to $5.7 million, Stallone accepted $4 million. Around the same period, he headed a partnership that bought 160 acres in Telluride for about $8.5 million, with Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson believed to be among his partners.
Sylvester Stallone turned a modest ranch into a lavish equestrian estate
Stallone had owned the Hidden Valley property, known as White Eagle Ranch, for five years when the sale was reported in March 1992. When he originally bought it, the property had only a six-stall barn and a two-bedroom cottage. During his ownership, he dramatically expanded the estate, adding another barn that brought the total to 29 horse stalls. He also constructed a 7,500-square-foot log cabin featuring a marble floor, a jade fireplace, an indoor waterfall and a bedroom occupying the entire second floor. The property also had a 2,200-square-foot guest house, two swimming pools, a four-car garage, a guard house, accommodation for gauchos, a workout ring, a horse Jacuzzi and a lighted polo field. The scale of the improvements made the property far more than a conventional ranch and reflected Stallone’s interest in horses and polo at the time.
White Eagle Ranch in Hidden Valley, California.
He sold the ranch for almost half its original asking price
The White Eagle Ranch had initially been placed on the market in 1990 for $7.95 million. The asking price was subsequently reduced to $5.7 million before the eventual buyer agreed to pay $4 million in cash. The buyers were described by the Los Angeles Times as wealthy people from outside the area and were represented by Prudential Realty in Woodland Hills. Their offer arrived in late February 1992 and the deal reportedly closed within a few days. Compared with the original $7.95 million asking price, the final sale represented a reduction of nearly $4 million. It was also $1.7 million below the reduced $5.7 million asking price.
Stallone was moving away from polo and horses in California
The sale was described at the time as part of a change in Stallone’s interests rather than simply a property disposal. Joanie Young, one of the agents representing him, said Stallone was shifting his interests and was no longer using his polo ponies. Another source told the newspaper that Stallone had been encouraged to refrain from playing polo under the terms of a five-year contract to produce and direct films. His connection with horses had not disappeared, however. Young said he remained a great lover of horses and had moved many of them the previous year to his ranch in Maryland. Stallone also maintained a polo field in Kauai, although two of its three 25-acre parcels had gone into escrow at about $1.7 million each, while the third was being offered for $1 million.
At the same time he was expanding into Telluride
While Stallone was selling the California ranch, his property ambitions were moving towards Colorado. The Los Angeles Times reported that he headed a partnership that had purchased 160 acres in Telluride for about $8.5 million. Shortly before that acquisition, Stallone had bought 11 lots on a Telluride ski run for an average of $334,000 per lot, according to sources cited by the newspaper. He had also optioned another 20-acre parcel. The 160-acre purchase therefore formed part of a broader expansion in the area rather than appearing to be an isolated transaction. The 160-acre holding was nearly seven times the size of the 23-acre California ranch he had just sold.
Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson were reportedly among his partners
The Telluride purchase also brought Stallone into a remarkable Hollywood real-estate story. According to the Los Angeles Times, actors Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson were believed to be among Stallone’s partners in the 160-acre purchase. The wording is important because the contemporary report did not provide a confirmed ownership breakdown or specify how much of the property each person held. Stallone was identified as the head of the partnership, while Cruise and Nicholson were reported as believed participants. At the time, Stallone’s fortune was estimated by the newspaper at more than $100 million, with most of his wealth attributed to his hugely successful Rocky and Rambo films. He was also maintaining homes on Anini Beach in Kauai, in Malibu and in the Beverly Hills area, while his Maryland ranch remained part of his property portfolio.
