The most expensive home in Alabama will be up for auction on Oct. 31.
Known as the "Guitar House" because of the shape of its driveway, the 55,000-square-foot mansion sits on 27 sprawling acres in the Shoal Creek community of Birmingham. The home is owned by former MedPartners CEO Larry House, whose rise and fall from fortune is as storied as the home itself.
House built the mansion in 1997 while he was in the midst of negotiating the $7 billion buyout of his company — deemed to be the largest deal in Alabama history. However, the deal fell apart when MedPartners' practices and bookkeeping were questioned.
Shareholders sued MedPartners claiming the company had inflated its finances for the merger, and in 1999, accepted a settlement in for $56 million. MedPartners stock lost nearly 40 percent in one day, and House resigned.
A divorce settlement would cut deeper into his troubled finances. He moved to a smaller house and out of the spotlight.
In 2003, "Guitar House" was auctioned by Atlanta's Great Gatsby's Auction Gallery for a reported $3.95 million to a bank. However, House bought the home back, and then listed in for 17.9 million in 2011. He drastically reduced the home to $13.9 in 2014. At the time, it was the largest home on the market in the country.
And now the 15-bedroom mansion inspired by Versailles is on the auction block once again, with no reserve. The auction is being held by DeCaro Luxury Auctions.
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