OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's $27m mansion with ‘Batcave’ is a leaky ‘lemon,’ lawsuit says
Sam Altman's super luxurious San Francisco estate has been plagued by coyotes in the past. A new suit paints an ugly picture of the exorbitant residence.
Sam Altman's $27 million luxury mansion in the Russian Hill neighbourhood of San Francisco is riddled with numerous defects, including a leaky infinity pool and spillage issues. The OpenAI CEO was “misled into buying” the extravagant estate with a “Batcave” garage, a new lawsuit alleges.
After the San Francisco Chronicle reported the suit, the San Francisco Standard connected it to Altman, claiming the entrepreneur was manipulated into purchasing a “lemon” with “pervasive shoddy workmanship and corner-cutting.”
Inside Sam Altman's $27 million San Francisco estate
A previous insight into the 9,500 sq. ft. estate in the environs of the iconic Lombard Street offered by Architectural Digest shows a lush garden joining the super luxurious abode to the personal wellness cottage, which is home to an unbeatable combination of sauna, steam room, massage area, and spa. Residence 950 also sports a four-sided infinity edge pool and a Batcave-like garage where cars rotate on the turntable before finally emerging into the California light.
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Although it's not the only estate owned by Altman, it has made it to the headlines again after becoming the faulty high-profile subject of a suit. Surprisingly, the Russian Hill home sold 40% below its originally sky-piercing price in 2020, dropping from its 2018 value of $45 million to $27 million. Previously deemed iconic, Residence 950 encompasses a full city block, equivalent to six regular-sized lots. The house was heavily renovated and packs with an outdoor kitchen, six-bedroom, and eight-bathroom main area.
Sam Altman's SF house plagued with numerous ordeals
After witnessing several other issues this year, the latest complaint against the mansion states the developers didn’t reveal the many construction flaws it provided with a roof. The suit filed on behalf of the house in San Francisco Superior Court alleges local developer Troon Pacific of selling the house to Altman despite being “aware of pervasive and significant defects.”
Among several other incidents at the estate, it witnessed “a crushed sewer pipe running from the laundry system that created a back-up and spillage.” With raw sewage being dumped at the house’s side, the house even became a victim to a flood that took over the “entire subfloor of the lower level,” resulting in widespread mould.
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The complaint asserts that the house's high-profile infinity pool was the water source, as it had a “poor and substandard waterproofing design and installation.” According to the suit, the repair would cost more than $4 million, which doesn’t include solutions to the raw sewage being dumped on the ground, leaking irrigation lines, “water intrusion at skylights,” and other issues.
Beyond its mind-boggling features and the recent lawsuit, Altman and his husband, Oliver Mulherin’s place also gained attention in December last year when it became the target of a supposed coyote problem. Presumably, that was merely the beginning of its wild dilemmas.
“This coyote moved into my house and scratches on the door outside. It’s very cute, but… very annoying at night,” Altman mentioned in his CEO of the Year interview with Time.
In addition to Altman finding faults with Troon Pacific's sale, which offers a 270-degree view of San Francisco and the Bay, the developer was at the focus of another scandal in May this year. He was ordered to return $50 million to investors who had supported Residence 950 and several other luxury house renovation projects in San Francisco. The project reportedly never achieved its intended goals, but the company apparently scored millions in the ordeal.