Six years ago, Ehud Arye Laniado unexpectedly died while undergoing penis enlargement surgery in Paris. The billionaire Israeli-Belgian jetsetter left behind what is perhaps the world’s most successful diamond-trading operation, a mortgage-free Bel Air mansion worth tens of millions, a $50 million Monaco penthouse, and a vast fortune to be split among his widow and four adult children.
Laniado was born in Tel Aviv but made a name for himself while living the Central African Republic, where he became one of the globe’s foremost experts at valuing raw diamonds. He later became a citizen of Belgium—long the center of the world’s diamond trade—but spent his final years mainly residing in Monte Carlo. His colorful, 40-year career was filled with highs and lows: In 2015, he sold the world’s most expensive diamond for $48.4 million to Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau; two years earlier, he settled a $5 billion tax evasion case by paying a $150 million fine to the Belgian authorities. At the time of his death, he was reportedly due to stand trial for illegally importing diamonds mined in Angola and the Congo.
Today, the remaining Laniado family is scattered around the globe. It appears Ehud’s widow Linda May Laniado still lives in the couple’s lavish Monaco penthouse, while his son and daughter from a previous marriage live in New York City and Miami, respectively. But his younger two children live in Los Angeles, where son Joshua has owned a multimillion-dollar Hollywood Hills home for years. And daughter Jade Laniado was the buyer who recently shelled out north of $13.5 million for a downright glamorous house in ultra-coveted Trousdale Estates, arguably Beverly Hills’ most expensive neighborhood pocket.
The modernist extravaganza last sold in 2021 for just $6.4 million to L.A.-based studio SIMO Design, at which point the then-dated house underwent an extensive renovation. Writer Wendy Bowman deservedly called the end result a “stylish showpiece,” complete with oak hardwood floors imported from Belgium, designer lighting fixtures, and a substantial motorcourt fashioned from hand-cut granite cobblestone—an extravagance that surely cost a fortune to install.
Undoubtedly, however, the home’s most arresting feature is its exterior, which is mostly fashioned from redwood and textured concrete blocks. Things are light and bright inside, mostly thanks to Lotery’s trademark high ceilings and clerestory windows, and there is a landscaped atrium entryway with a water feature that bumps up the residential wow factor.
Other amenities include four large bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a living room equipped with a bar and Lotery’s original fireplace. The formal dining room connects to the eat-in kitchen, which features premium appliances and new marble countertops. And like many of the other rooms, it opens to sunny outdoor patios via sliding glass doors.
The house is also something of a local oddity—while most Trousdale homes are single-story, this place is actually a tri-level affair, with a finished basement and a penthouse-level primary suite tricked out with dual closets, a marble-slathered bath, and an adjoining sitting room.
Outside, the various patios and lounge areas flow out to a saltwater pool with city lights views, and there’s a covered carport with space for two vehicles. Even with all that luxury deep in the proverbial heart of the coveted 90210, Jade Laniado managed to score a significant discount off the property’s $15 million ask.
As for her father’s longtime L.A. house, that gated estate recently hit the market at $25 million. Sited way high up in the mountains that divide Bel Air from Sherman Oaks, the contemporary mansion lies within a guard-gated community and sports nearly 12,000 square feet of living space within its red-brick façade. The 2010-built structure also offers soaring walls ideal for a modern art collection, a zero-edge pool, and the Laniados will sell it to you fully furnished—per the listing.
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