Fleur De Lys This...

OWNER: Suzanne Saperstein
LOCATION: Carolwood Drive, Bel Air, CA
PRICE: $125,000,000
SIZE: 35,046 square feet, 12 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: Fleur De Lys - The Finest Estate in America. Available by appointment to pre-qualified clients only. The property has 12 bedrooms, 15 baths, guest house on a 5.01 acres.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: No children, that is not the summer residence of The Pope. Nor is this palace located in some backwater outside of Paris where French Royalty went to get away from the pestilence and poverty of the common people. Nor is this a government building, a posh hotel, or a school. No babies, this is a house. Known by the pompous name of Fleur De Lys, the house was built by Texas billionaire David Saperstein and his big blond Swedish wife Suzanne, who apparently wanted to world to know they have more money than an Egyptian Pharaoh. If everything is bigger in Texas, then this house proves it's even bigger when Texans relocate to the Holmby Hills.

The New York Social Diary has a nice synopsis of the Saperstein love story which has all the earmarks of a tawdry romance novel. But alas, the once happy marriage has ended in a well publicized and not so amicable dee-vorce. Suzanne, being the mother of their three children, got the big house in the Holmby Hills section of Bel Air as part of her settlement, and she promptly put on the market with a staggering $125,000,000 price tag.

Gurl isn't crazy. She knows what it costs to run that house, and she's well aware of the number of staff that need to be paid just to keep the lawn mowed and the windows washed. And she is not about to run through her dee-vorce settlement cash settling up with the hedge trimmers, house maids, and pool people. She's knows that now that she's dee-vorced, it's time to get practical. Besides, what rich man is going to want to marry a woman who comes with expenses and baggage like Fleur De Lys?

Reports have said that Miz Saperstein and the children have given up the big house for a more sensibly sized 14,800 square foot house at the family's 140 acre ranch in Simi Valley. Simi Valley?

Your Mama does not know who or what sort of person would actually buy a house like Fleur De Lys, but we have been told by someone who would know that the house has been looked at by potentates, foreign governments, a Russian oligarch or two, and even a few stupendously rich Americans. It is someone from this circle that we have to thank for the photographs you see above. No, Your Mama does not fraternize with billionaires, but we do fraternize with people who fraternize with billionaires. Wink, wink.

Although property records indicate the house at just over 35,000 square feet, most reports say the house has 45,000 square feet. The larger number likely includes the guest house and staff quarters which are contained in separate buildings. An recent article in the Wall Street Journal tells us that inside the big house there are 12 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, Italian marble walls, French limestone floors, gold-embossed leather wall coverings, gold leaf crown moldings, a vast ballroom, two kitchens, and a 50-seat screening room, natch. Also on the grounds, a pool house with kitchen, massage room, gym, a three bedroom manager's house, staff quarters for ten, a nine-care garage, and a three-quarter mile jogging track.

Please also note the trampoline that has been placed at the back of the house on the not very well tended lawn. Tacky. Seriously, Miss Suzanne Saperstein, you have 5 acres there and boo-coo bucksin your myriad of Chanel purses and pocketbooks...Have that trampoline put somewhere more discreet on the property.

One day someone will come along and buy this house. Somehow Your Mama doubts they'll pay anywhere near the $125,000,000 asking price. But whatever amount it is that gets coughed up, you can bet that number will flabbergast and amaze Your Mama. Trust us when we say the Dr. Cooter will need to be shoving smelling salts under our nose to keep us from passing out from shock the day this house transfers ownership.

Sources: Mother Jones, New York Social Diary, The Independent, Wall Street Journal