The Los Angeles property nicknamed the Playboy Mansion has long been known for two things: A remarkably well-preserved cultural relic full of creamy filling, and being likely to make you sick. So really, it’s more of a lateral move as The Wall Street Journal reports that the property has been purchased by Daren Metropoulos, a “principal” at a private-equity firm who looks exactly what you would expect a 32-year-old financier who would spend a crazy amount of money on the Playboy Mansion would look like. Here he is on the left with Snoop Dogg and his brother Evan at a party in 2012:
Astute observers will notice both the presence of the Playboy and Pabst Blue Ribbon logos in that photograph, neither of which is a coincidence. Metropoulos is the former CEO of Pabst Blue Ribbon, which also owns Colt 45, explaining why he’s hanging out with former Colt 45 pitchman Snoop Dogg. (Probably not so much these days, as Snoop sued Pabst for unpaid promotional fees last January.) He’s also the guy responsible for bringing back Twinkies, as his firm purchased Hostess Brands in 2013 after the company went bankrupt in late 2012.
He also happens to have owned the house next door to the Playboy mansion since 2009, and intends to combine the two properties into one compound after 90-year-old Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s “tenancy ends,” as WSJ tactfully puts it. (Allowing Hefner to remain in the mansion until his death was reportedly a condition of the sale.)
Speaking about the purchase—rumored to be in the nine-digit range, if not the original asking price of $200 million—Metropoulos says he bought the property not for its wild past, but for its architectural significance. “The heritage of this property transcends its celebrity, and to have the opportunity to serve as its steward would be a true privilege,” he says. In other words, he bought it for the articles.