At the tender age of 27, Yunfan “Chandler” Song is living the dream. The UC Berkeley grad and ex-Amazon software engineer is now the high-flying CEO of Ankr Network, which has quickly become one of the cryptocurrency world’s hottest startups.
Apart from Ankr, Song is also the cofounder of NFT auction platform Bounce; in 2019, he was named to Forbes’ annual “30 under 30” list as one of their “Big Money” startup founders.
Those accolades have brought the millennial entrepreneur fame, at least within the crypto community, fortune and fancy cars. Now they’ve also bought him a $12 million house in one of L.A.’s most exclusive neighborhoods.
Looming high above the iconic Sunset Strip, the ultra-contemporary home was built in 2017 as one of the final designs of Austin Kelley, the late founder of XTEN Architecture. The snow-white and slab-sided mansion packs five bedrooms and six bathrooms into nearly 7,500 square feet of living space, all of it with the high-wattage visual drama and glitz associated with these showy sorts of Hollywood Hills houses.
The property sits in a neighborhood pocket of the hills known as Doheny Estates, immediately adjacent to the far more famous Bird Streets area. Controversial developer Philip Rahimzadeh bought the lot way back in 2004 and spent years of planning and construction to bring the existing mansion to life. Completed in early 2019, the house was initially offered with a nearly $17 million ask, ultimately spending spent more than two years on the market — at a wide variety of prices — before Song’s lowball offer was finally accepted.
It seems certain that building the house took some very expensive engineering, as it’s set onto a steeply-sloped lot that backs up to a nearly sheer mountain. Huge retaining walls encircle the blocky structure, and the entire place is elevated well above the street out front, with the front door set atop a twisty staircase.
From street level, the home’s ground floor is mostly obscured behind a wall of mature olive trees and other lush plantings set into the terraced front yard.
Behind a locked gate, the staircase leads to a central courtyard landing — on one side are glass Fleetwood doors leading to a semi-detached office space (below), on the other are the main home’s wooden front doors, which are inset into a bookmatched marble slab wall.
The front doors open into an oversized living room with a dining area, Carrara marble wet bar and a fireplace set into a floor-to-ceiling black marble mantle. And like almost every other room in the house, this space has Fleetwood glass doors the slide open for easy access to an outdoor patio and city lights views.
Down a short hallway is the chic kitchen, which has Miele appliances and bespoke cabinetry.
Also on the ground floor are a small bedroom suite that’s ideal for live-in staff or overnight guests, plus a movie theater clad entirely in suede (or a suede-like material).
Downstairs, the basement level contains the garage, which has epoxy floors and is capable of storing two large SUVs or up to four smaller cars. Also down there are a 2,000-bottle wine cellar and a games area.
Because of the way it is built into the side of a mountain, the home’s usable outdoor spaces are somewhat limited. But the spaces available are expensively hardscaped, tiled in imported stone and feature al fresco dining spaces and flat patios for entertaining.
The home’s mostly pillar-free exteriors are ideal for sexy Instagram photoshoots and birdwatchers alike.
Undoubtedly the home’s most impressive space is the upstairs master suite, which spans 2,000 square feet all by itself. Extravagant amenities include “smoked French Oak cabinetry,” per the listing, a Miele wine refrigerator, built-in espresso machine and a fireplace. There’s also an oversized dressing room/closet and a marble-swaddled bathroom with a steam shower and chrome bathtub — for a touch of Vegas in prime Los Angeles. A wraparound deck offers Century City views aplenty.
Back outside, a fountain is set beside a banquette-style seating area shaded by olive trees.
There’s also an infinity-edged plunge pool set into the south side of the property, just below a concrete retaining wall. Though it’s likely too compact for serious swimming, the vaguely arrowhead-shaped pool does include an inset spa and Baja sunbathing shelf.
And from its perch in the hills, the property lords over the nearby homes of A-list actors and musicians, making that $12 million spent seem even more worth it — for those always seeking to be king of the proverbial hill, of course.
