Malibu’s iconic Wave House has finally found a new owner, after it languished for a total of 452 days on the market. The proud new owners are none other than high profile power couple Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner. News broke this week that the supermodel and her venture capitalist husband have purchased the 0.70-acre oceanfront property for $29.5 million—a whopping $20 million beneath its original price.
Joshua Kushner and Karlie Kloss. Photo by Kevin Mazur/MG19/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue.
Three real estate agencies listed the home, all with help from Zen Gesner, son of Harry Gesner, the architect who designed Wave House from atop a surfboard back in the 1950s. The distinctive six-bedroom, 6,200 square-foot residence resembles a wave approaching the beach for guests gazing upon it while either fishing out on the water or shredding its surf. The roof’s oxidized hand-cut copper shingles enhance its marine effect, as do the three arcs of its scalloped deck. Danish architect Jørn Utzon found Gesner’s organically-inspired Wave House so inspiring that he purportedly drew from its silhouette while designing the now-iconic Sydney Opera House.
The architect of Wave House lived next door in Sandcastle (left). Photo: Simon Berlyn.
Wave House hit the market on June 1, 2023—about a year after the death of its latest owner, legendary Warner Brothers Records executive Mel Ostin, known for signing acts such as the Kinks and Jimi Hendrix. Though Gesner originally designed Wave House for a few surf buddies who owned a lumberyard in the area, British musician Rod Stewart lived there throughout the 1970s. He once invited the Scottish National soccer team to play a game on the beach, and was often seen dancing on the deck. Stewart added railings to this feature during his tenure.
Wave House at sunset. Photo: Simon Berlyn.
Ostin bought Wave House from Stewart in the late 1980s, and owned it until his death at 95 in 2022. Gesner died at 97 that same year. The architect’s own standout residence, Sandcastle House—another icon of Malibu architecture, which sits next door—hit the market a month before Wave House did. Zen Gesner remarked at the time that he hoped a single buyer would scoop both properties, to ensure their preservation. Neither home has landmark status.
Alas, the Sandcastle House sold on its own in February. But, with its spacious communal quarters, eight bathrooms, and guesthouse, Wave House will offer ample space for the Kushner-Kloss clan of four. This icon also joins the couple’s impressive real estate portfolio, which includes a Miami Beach mansion and a New York penthouse.
A sunken conversation pit in the main living area adds warmth and charm to Wave House. Photo: Simon Berlyn.
Zen Gesner has not yet answered a request for comment regarding why this house took so long to sell, or why it sold for so little, especially considering the shocking price tags that less architecturally significant homes around Malibu have been known to command.
Gesner’s fans will have to wait and see what Kushner and Kloss do with the place. Perhaps they plan to revive it, the same way they said they wanted to bring Life magazine back to its former glory earlier this year.