Powerball lottery winner Edwin Castro narrowly missed a landslide that damaged half of a neighboring home in West Hollywood this week. The $25.5 million mansion was just a few feet away from the landslide that crashed through the Hollywood Hills neighborhood following a storm. The damaged house was undergoing renovations at the time of the slide and the owner was set to move in with his family just a few days later when he received the devastating news.
A neighbor captured the landslide on cell phone video, showing the hill giving way and making cracking noises. Other neighbors reported hearing a loud bang and seeing dirt coming down around 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Estimates for repairing the damage were around $500,000 with the house suffering about $50,000 in damages. The homeowner mentioned the need for shotcrete to fix his property which extends from the affected area to the end, noting that there was no insurance to cover this type of damage.
The homeowner is hoping that the city will help offset some of the costs associated with repairing the damage. City inspectors and geologists inspected the damaged property and hillside, as well as the homes directly above the slide site. Castro purchased his five-bedroom home in West Hollywood for $25.5 million in March 2023, shortly after claiming a lump sum of $997.6 million from the Powerball lottery.
The landslide narrowly missed powerball lottery winner Edwin Castro’s $25.5 million sprawl in West Hollywood, leaving half of a neighboring home buried under dirt. The damaged house, located above the Chateau Marmont hotel, was under renovation at the time of the landslide, which occurred after a storm. A neighbor was able to capture the event on a cell phone video, which showed the hill giving way and making loud noises as it tumbled down.
The total cost to repair the damage was estimated to be around $500,000, with the homeowner facing expenses of around $50,000 for the damages. The property required a shotcrete to fix the affected area and the homeowner mentioned that there was no insurance coverage for this type of damage. The city inspected the damaged property, hillside, and homes above the slide site to assess the extent of the damage and potential risks.
Castro expressed hope that the city would assist in covering some of the repair costs associated with the landslide that affected his property. He had purchased the West Hollywood home with five bedrooms for $25.5 million shortly after claiming a significant sum of money from the Powerball lottery. The incident serves as a reminder of the risks associated with living in areas prone to landslides and the importance of taking precautions to protect against such natural disasters.
