The creator of Squishmallows paid $26 million for a Bel-Air mansion in 2023 and is now asking $37.995 million; the three-level home was bought as an investment and was never his residence

Jonathan Kelly, who made a fortune selling Squishmallows, the plush toys, has now put his Bel-Air mansion on the market for nearly $38 million, according to a report by Realtor.com.

During the pandemic, the Squishmallows craze took TikTok by storm, turning the once-niche toys into a viral sensation. The man behind them, Jonathan Kelly, cashed out of the toy business and put part of the proceeds into Los Angeles real estate. Now, he is looking to cash in on it.

From plush to Bel-Air

Kelly Toys, founded in 1986, launched its Squishmallows, an ultra-soft, marshmallow-like collectible, in 2017. The line quickly became a fast-growing part of the business. Following the massive demand, the company was sold in two transactions, one in 2020 and another in 2022. The first, announced in April 2020, gave Jazwares, a subsidiary of Alleghany Capital, a majority stake.

Jonathan Kelly purchased the Bel-Air house in 2023. He paid $26 million for it. He never lived in it, and now it is finally time to sell it. He said he bought the property for a relatively low price. The property had first been listed at $47.5 million, so his purchase landed roughly 45 per cent under the original asking price. This was right before LA’s ‘mansion tax’ on homes priced above $5 million took effect.

A house he never lived in

Kelly always considered the Bel-Air mansion an investment. So he never moved into the three-level mansion. It sits above the fourth green of the Bel-Air Country Club golf course. An investor’s house gets judged differently from a family home, by the gap between what went in and what comes out. “It’s an asset, and it’s time to exit,” he told the outlet.

So was the house sitting in the dark? Not really. Kelly had rented it out for a substantial amount of money, according to listing agent Marc Noah of Sotheby’s International Realty. Neither of them was willing to reveal what figure was put on it.

The 16,850-square-foot home at 638 Siena Way is asking $37.995 million. The street is lined with sprawling estates priced in the nine figures. Developer Ardie Tavangarian is asking $135 million for an eight-bedroom spec house there.

Less than half a mile away, a company tied to billionaire Peter Thiel paid $130 million for Casa Encantada, a storied 40,000-square-foot estate overlooking the same country club. The deal came at a foreclosure auction in July, three months after the previous owner’s family relisted the property at $170 million. It was listed for $250 million in 2023.

Listing agent Noah calls Kelly’s price an ‘entry point’ for the neighbourhood. In a place where a foreclosure auction can still clear $130 million, $37.995 million is simply the cheap seat. According to him, the mansion tax in LA slowed the high-end real estate market at first, but “like anything, people have gotten accustomed to it.”

What the buyer gets

The house has everything a Bel-Air buyer’s checklist might look for. The mansion built in 2022 is spread across 16,849 square feet on a 37,127-square-foot lot. It has eight luxe bedrooms, eight full bathrooms and three partial ones. The entertaining side is well stocked: a media room, a screen room, a wet bar, a wine cellar, an outdoor pool, and a spa.

Hardwood and stone flooring run through the interior. There is one fireplace, and central air-conditioning is zoned so different parts of the house can be cooled separately. A house comes with a garage. The real pitch is the setting, though. The house sits on the golf course, with golf views and city strip views from the property. At the asking price, that works out to roughly $2,255 a square foot.