Few buyers place “previous owner” at the top of a must-have list, yet provenance casts color on every address. A storied history suggests how a house is lived in, loved, even re-engineered. At 708 North Rexford Drive in Beverly Hills, that color comes from an elite palette. Three power players—fashion mogul Max Azria, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos with former author, producer and former U.S. ambassador Nicole Avant, and Fox Television chief Jack Abernethy—have all at different times called these walls home.
From the curb, the house projects discreet East Coast formality. A high hedge, twin motor courts and a black-slate rooftop adorned with dormer windows whisper New England more than Los Angeles. Step through the door and the illusion continues. Traditional millwork and formal rooms project buttoned-up composure. Yet sliding walls open to a sun-bleached pool deck—pure California. Style says tux, setting says swimsuit.
Speaking of attire, Max Azria, founder of women’s fashion brand BCBG (not to be confused with CBGB, the legendary dive bar turned NYC punk nirvana), likely found the six-bedroom layout perfect for his eye for fashion. Twin dressing areas—with closets spacious enough to host a season’s collection—surely proved irresistible. The short hop to Rodeo Drive’s designer ateliers only sweetened the choice.
Azria’s buyers, Sarandos and Avant, brought a different spotlight. In 2012, the power couple staged a private fundraiser here for President Barack Obama. No press allowed. Guest cars curled through the dual motor courts and vanished behind foliage. Inside, the floor plan proved more than hospitable. Formal living and library corridored into a glassy family room, then spilled outdoors to a lantern-lit dining grove. Tickets ran towards $40,000 a seat. Proof positive that this architecture can handle both intimate scripts and box-office blockbusters.
The keys would eventually land in the hands of 708 North Rexford Drive’s current owner, Jack Abernethy, who quickly went to work behind the scenes. The Fox executive relocated the kitchen to the back of the house. Now marble countertops spectate as family and guests cannonball into a newly minted pool. A guest cottage sprang up a few steps away, outfitted with its own fireplace and two baths. The overhaul moved the heart of the home toward the garden, coaxing people outside, letting conversation track the sun across the lawn.
Private quarters remain suitably elevated. The primary suite pushes onto an airy terrace with a fireplace. Two secondary suites play their own balconies. A convertible fifth bedroom waits on the main floor for staff, teenage independence… or a sudden brainstorm that needs an office by morning.
Location completes the portrait. The Flats earns its name from—you guessed it—flat ground that stalls just before the Santa Monica Mountains begin to climb skyward. That gentle topography means quick hops to studios along Pico, red-carpet premieres on Hollywood Boulevard, late dinners on Rodeo Drive. The Beverly Hills Hotel glows five minutes away. Private jets at Van Nuys break the horizon in under half an hour. For executives who measure days in such increments, minutes matter.
So does legacy. A house that has inspired couture, courted presidents and rewritten prime-time schedules speaks to more than square footage. It signals uncompromising standards. Buyers may not list “former owner” on a spreadsheet, yet the notion hovers. Who actually lived here? At 708 North Rexford, the cohort is hard to ignore, with each name a benchmark of success. The home rose to their levels. Now the question is: who will shape its legacy next?
Priced at $16.85 million, the listing for 708 N Rexford is held by Brett Lawyer of Carolwood Estates. Carolwood Estates is a member of Forbes Global Properties, an invitation-only network of top-tier brokerages worldwide and the exclusive real estate partner of Forbes.
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