José Menendez, the father of the two brothers, arrived in America as a fairly ordinary Cuban immigrant. By the time he died, he was a millionaire who had worked in both the music industry and Hollywood over the course of his career. According to the Los Angeles Times, the estate he left behind was initially valued at over $14 million.
The estate included two homes: The family’s first house in Calabasas, which was being refurbished at the time of the murder, and a property in Beverly Hills where the murder took place. The luxurious Calabasas house was appraised at $2.65 million and contains a tennis court, swimming pool, wet bar, and guest house (via the Los Angeles Times). During the probate auction in 1994, it fetched just $1.325 million.
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The Beverly Hills murder house, 722 North Elm Drive, also lost some of its original value. Built in 1927 and redesigned in the 1980s, the two-story mansion was initially said to be worth a whopping $4.8 million and could claim Elton John and Prince among its previous owners. However, now saddled with a pretty grim history, it eventually sold for much less — after being rented out to a Saudi prince for $50,000 it finally sold for $3,607,975 in 1991.
