Sam Bronfman’s Atherton Mansion for Sale at $42 Million

Nestled between the buzzing tech hubs of San Francisco and San Jose, in the most luxurious ZIP Code of the United States—Atherton, California, is Samuel Bronfman II’s 40 Atherton Avenue – for sale at $42 million.

A world of luxury 

Built in 1932, and rejuvenated in 2001, this 13,525-square-foot architectural marvel sprawls across a majestic 3.17 acres of nature’s splendor. Every corner of this estate blooms with exceptional plantings. 

The estate orbits around a magnetic central courtyard, with French doors blending indoor and outdoor spaces.

Versatile Living:

A spacious guest house, complete with a full kitchen—ideal for guests or poolside soirées.

A standalone apartment

 Outdoors Reimagined: 

Dive into the glistening pool

Challenge a friend on the pristine tennis court

For the Connoisseurs: House your wine treasures in a sommelier-worthy wine cellar with a capacity for 5,000 bottles.

Parking Galore: With oversized garages that can accommodate up to 5 cars, always have space for your collection.

 Each of the seven bedrooms serves as a private retreat.

The master suite, a sanctuary of its own, features an inviting fireplace, a scenic balcony, dual dressing rooms, and a bathroom that exudes spa-like tranquility.

Experience grand entertaining in a formal dining room and a living room adorned with a romantic fireplace, both opening to an Edenic backyard. 

A home office worthy of closing multimillion-dollar deals 

A haven of horticultural beauty—gardens with exotic plantings and mature trees.

A slice of America…. 

The property taxes are $104,557 per year.  With a $4.2 million down payment, your monthly payments are $319,356.

Atherton  

Atherton is in San Mateo County, California, with a population of 7,188. It has the highest per capita income and cost of living in the U.S. among towns of its size.

Land use in Atherton is restricted. There’s no commercial zoning, meaning the town is not cluttered with restaurants, shops, or grocery stores inviting unwanted visitors.  The average home price is more than $7.5 million.

Meet the Seller

Samuel Bronfman II, an heir to the Seagram liquor empire, purchased the mansion 37 years ago for $3.3 million. 

He bought the home 11 years after he was kidnapped in 1975, by Mel Patrick Lynch and Dominic Byrne, and held for $2.3 million ransom, which his father Edgar Bronfman Sr. paid under an aqueduct in Queens.  

While both Lynch and Byrne initially confessed to the kidnapping, they changed their stories, claiming Sam masterminded his own kidnapping to raise cash, and that Lynch and Sam were lovers. The jury acquitted the two men of kidnapping, but found them guilty of extortion.

Sam, who denied his involvement vehemently, lived under this shadow. It may have caused the decimation of the Bronfman fortune. With doubts lingering about Sam, his father bypassed him for running Seagram and named his younger brother as successor. 

Edgar Jr. constructed a merger with the French company Vivendi — giving Vivendi 51 percent in a deal that may have been a little shy in due diligence, since Vivendi was on the verge of bankruptcy. The merger resulted in the Bronfmans losing 75 percent of their fortune.

Sam Bronfman, choosing not to work under his younger brother, became the co-founder of Bacchus Capital Management, a San Francisco-based investment firm. 

Samuel’s younger sisters, Sara and Clare Bronfman, distinguished themselves for their work related to the self-help life coaching group NXIVM. In 2020, Clare Bronfman was sentenced to 81 months in prison due to her NXIVM-related activities. For the same reasons, Sara exited the USA and is living in Portugal.

As for Sam’s role in the kidnapping, one of the kidnappers’ lawyers said in a “deathbed” memoir that Sam was truly kidnapped, and that Lynch and he lied to the jury to get the kidnappers off.

The FBI said they had found no evidence that Bronfman was involved. Representatives of the Bronfman family said Sam was at college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, when he was supposedly meeting with his purported co-conspirators to plan his abduction in New York.

Meet Your Neighbors

We invite you to explore the list of your soon-to-be neighbors. [Ed. Note: Some of these neighbors might have recently moved.] 

Business and Tech

Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder.

Timothy C. Draper, founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape.

Douglas Engelbart, computer engineer, inventor of the mouse.

Bill Gurley, general partner at Benchmark.

Elizabeth Holmes, former biotechnology entrepreneur.

Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz.

Ron Johnson, former senior executive at Apple

Guy Kawasaki, venture capitalist

Jan Koum, co-founder of WhatsApp

Steve Westly, former State Controller of California, and venture capitalist.

Meg Whitman, former president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard, former CEO of eBay

Dennis Woodside, president of Impossible Foods, former COO of Dropbox

Nick Clegg, Meta Platforms executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Douglas Leone venture capitalist

Andy W. Mattes, CEO of Diebold.

J. B. Pritzker, Governor of Illinois and co-founder of the Pritzker Group

Tom Proulx, co-founder of Intuit

George R. Roberts, co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

James R. Scapa, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Altair Engineering

Eric Schmidt, former executive chairman and CEO of Google

Charles R. Schwab, founder and CEO of the Charles Schwab Corporation

Literary

Gertrude Atherton, author

Andy Kessler

Maureen Kennedy Salaman, author, proponent of alternative medicine

Minstrels

Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac

Robby Krieger, guitarist, The Doors

Charlie Kubal, music producer

Bob Weir, musician with the Grateful Dead

Quadeca, White Rapper

Moving Picture Performers

Drew Fuller

Shirley Temple

Athletics  

CiCi Bellis, tennis player

Ty Cobb, baseball player

Ted Robinson, sports broadcaster 

Y.A. Tittle, football player

Diversity

A message from diversity specialist Lucius MacNab:

At Atherton, our dedication to embracing diversity and fostering inclusivity is a source of immense pride. Setting us apart from many other affluent communities, we firmly believe that in our town, your race or gender should never serve as an impediment to finding a place to call home. Here, it’s not a question of who you are, but rather a celebration of the profound sense of community and the collective values that bind us together.

In the vibrant tapestry of Atherton, wealth may open doors, but it is our shared reverence for the kaleidoscope of diversity that holds the greatest significance. We extend an open-armed welcome to all who can afford to wish to be a part of our community, inviting you to contribute to the mosaic of experiences that make Atherton a luminous exemplar of an inclusive and thriving town.

Diverse neighbors

Mohamed Atalla, inventor of MOSFET transistor,

Stephen Curry, basketball 

Willie Mays, baseball

Jerry Rice, football 

Komal Shah, art collector

Bobbie Kelsey, basketball coach

Vivek Ranadive, founder TIBCO Software

Rajeev Motwani, professor

Farzad Nazem, former chief technology officer of Yahoo! 

Chamath Palihapitiya, CEO of Social Capital