Back in 2010, things were looking glum for Oklahoma-based businessman Jerry Cash. The former CEO of Quest Resources had just been sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison for stealing $10 million from the oil and gas company—a full $5 million of which went toward lavish renovations on his Oklahoma City-area home, authorities said.
But 15 years later and free once more, Cash is back. And he’s in a new town, packing a new career path, a new company, and a new name. Now known as JW Ross and based in California, the serial entrepreneur has shifted his attention to the burgeoning wellness-focused energy drinks business; he founded Santa Monica-based Botanic Tonics in 2020. “Feel Free,” the company’s signature product, is available nationwide and has rapidly become the country’s trendy new kombucha, with sales of the kava and kratom-infused drink going gangbusters and attracting lots of attention. Revenue has reached more than $250 million per year; a few months ago, Botanic Tonics agreed to pay $8.75 million to resolve a class action lawsuit alleging the company failed to disclose health risks related to the extracts included in its popular drinks.
Ross also has a new house. The lifelong real estate aficionado, 63, was the buyer who recently paid a whopping $30.5 million for a blufftop mansion positioned atop what is arguably the best and most prestigious street on Malibu’s Point Dume, where some of his nearest neighbors includes hedge fund billionaires Thomas Laffont and Chase Coleman, Google founder Sergey Brin, and King Abdullah II of Jordan.
Deservingly described in the listing as “palatial,” the three-story home is no humble beach shack, flaunting six bedrooms and nine bathrooms in more than 11,000 square feet of living space. But despite the sky-high price tag, Ross seems to have scored a deal. On and off the market for years, the house was initially listed at $65 million by the seller, hedge fund manager David Visher. Built in 1993 by oil tycoon Jim Schaefer, the place last sold in 2004 for $12 million and subsequently underwent at least one remodel.
Privately situated at the literal end of the road, hidden behind gates and untamed ficus trees, the elaborate Mediterranean villa-style structure sprawls over more than an acre of grounds, welcoming guests with a porte-cochère fronting the five separate garage bays.
Inside, three stories of very beige interiors feature high ceilings and a mix of hardwood and limestone parquet floors throughout. On the main level, the rotunda entryway steps down to a fireside living room with a grand piano and big ocean views; the adjoining dining room gets an elaborate ceiling treatment and opens to a partially covered terrace with vistas that stretch all the way down Malibu’s coastline.
Elsewhere on the main floor are a fireplace-equipped family room, a wood-paneled office, an outdoor dining terrace, and a decoratively dated kitchen that’s nonetheless kitted out commercial-grade stainless appliances.
On the home’s penthouse level, the primary suite has three fireplaces: one out on the private balcony, and one each in the bedroom and bathroom, the latter slathered in a unique pinkish granite that also encases the built-in bathtub. Elsewhere on this floor are two additional family bedrooms.
There’s also a huge lower level with a fireplace-equipped lounge/games room, plus three guest suites, a gym, a bonus room that could be used as a second office or for storage, and doors that open to a grassy lawn with more ocean views.
The backyard includes a covered patio and a separate, secluded “view pavilion” with an outdoor shower. One of the few things the lavish property lacks is a swimming pool—instead, it’s got a long and meandering pathway that will lead Ross and his lucky guests down, down, down to Little Dume Beach, long known as one of Malibu’s most secluded and scenic beaches.
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