The Playboy Mansion's owner who made a fortune reviving classic brands
Anna Tobin
02 February 2018
How Daren Metropoulos made a move on Hugh Hefner
The name Daren Metropoulos meant very little to most people until a couple of years ago, but in the summer of 2016 it was revealed that he was the new owner of the notorious Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. We take a look at at how Metropoulos, still now only 34 years old, came to afford the $100 million (£70.6 million) property and what he plans to do with it.
He's the son of C. Dean Metropoulos
Daren Metropoulos isn't an entirely self-made man. His father is the billionaire Charles Dean Metropoulos (pictured). C. Dean Metropoulos, as he is known, emigrated to America from Greece as a child. He spent his boyhood in Massachusetts and earned a BA and an MBA from Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts. He later enrolled in postgraduate studies in International Finance at Columbia University and began his career at GTE, later to become Verizon.
Father's business success
C. Dean Metropoulos became the youngest senior vice president for GTE's international business, overseeing telecommunications, home entertainment, lighting and precision materials. He left before the firm was taken over by Verizon to set up his own private equity business Metropoulos & Co in 1993. Metropoulos & Co has been involved in building, restructuring, growing and selling businesses in the US, Mexico, and Europe ever since.
Metropoulos builds on brands
Metropoulos & Co. has built a reputation as having the Midas touch when it comes to reviving classic brand names. In conjunction with Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, it bought the food business of American Home Products in 1996. It named the new group International Home Foods and Metropoulos was credited for reigniting the passion behind old favourites such as Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Pam Cooking Spray, Gulden’s Mustard and Bumble Bee Tuna.
Metropoulos's sons take an early interest in the business
C. Dean Metropoulos's sons Evan (pictured left) and Daren (pictured right) started getting involved in the family business when they were barely into their teens. The young siblings are said to have ensured a Metropoulos-owned brand got a product placement in a Jennifer Aniston movie, to have agreed a deal with the World Wrestling Foundation and to have got Bumble Bee Tuna sponsorship of the Howard Stern Show.
International Home Foods sells for billions
Four years after acquiring the International Home Foods business for a reported $1.275 billion (£901.3 million), Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst and Metropoulos & Co, Hicks Muse's exclusive management affiliate for investments in the food and consumer products industries, sold the company to ConAgra, Inc. one of the world's largest branded foods companies. The deal was valued at $2.9 billion (£2.05 billion), nearly double what had been paid for it in 1996.
Principals while still at college
The same year as International Home Foods' sale was inked, C. Dean Metropoulos officially bought his sons on board. The Metropoulos brothers have both been principals at Metropoulos & Co. since 2000. They were part of the senior team before they'd celebrated their 21st birthdays. Evan would still have been studying at the University of Connecticut in Stamford and Daren was at his father's alma mater Babson College and the University of Connecticut.
The brothers make their mark
Each brother has carved out a niche for himself within the company. Evan has concentrated on creating innovative operational and marketing strategies aimed at accelerating growth and reviving underperforming brands. He has also worked on real estate investment and development in California and Florida. Daren has become an expert at developing and executing creative sales and marketing strategies designed to connect brands with contemporary audiences.
Daren becomes Hugh Hefner's neighbour
In 2009, when Daren Metropoulos was just 25, he bought the sister house to the renowned Playboy Mansion from Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. He is said to have paid $18 million (£12.7 million) for the property, $10 million (£7.07 million) less than the asking price. He has lived in the Holmby Hills house adjacent to the star-studded Los Angeles Country Club ever since. Having a keen interest in architecture, he invested heavily in restoring the property and its extensive formal gardens.
The brothers start brewing
In 2010 Metropoulos & Co. bought the Pabst Brewing Co., one of the oldest breweries in America. The deal was reported to be worth $250 million (£176.5 million). Evan and Daren were made co-CEOs and they took the opportunity to show that they had picked up their father's knack for getting well-loved traditional brands ready to take on the 21st century market.
Brewing for success
The Pabst Brewing Co's budget Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) beer, a long-term favourite with America's working class, was starting to become the 'in drink' amongst urban hipsters, a trend that was likely noted by the brothers. They used their marketing prowess and celebrity connections to build on PBR's new street cred and they also raised the profile of other Pabst labels such as Schlitz and Old Milwaukee.
Partying at the Playboy Mansion
Daren had checked out the the Playboy Mansion before putting in an offer. As part of a Pabst Brewing Co. promotion he is said to have thrown a party at the infamous house next door with his brother to celebrate rapper Snoop Dogg’s 41st birthday party. Snoop was working on a collaboration with the Pabst Brewing Co. at the time.
Pabst is sold for millions
Having pushed Pabst Blue Ribbon to near record sales and put the firm on an upwards trajectory, the brothers put Pabst Brewing Co. back on the market and sold it in 2014 in a deal worth more than $700 million (£494 million). This is almost three times what Metropoulos & Co. reportedly paid for it in 2000.
Metropoulos & Co swallow up Twinkies
In 2013 Metropoulos & Co. partnered with Apollo Global Management to buy part of the bankrupt baking firm Hostess. They paid $410 million (£289.6 million) for the company's cake snacks division, which included Twinkies, one of America's most-loved snacks. The brothers once again had a strong say in the reintroduction of the Hostess snacks to the market, streamlining production methods, sticking with the original range and adding a few special editions.
The Playboy Mansion gets a new owner
Daren had always dreamt of extending his estate and buying the adjacent Playboy Mansion one day. In August 2016 his vision became a reality when he paid around $100 million (£70.3 million) for the pad. It was the biggest home purchase ever made in Los Angeles, but Daren did manage to take $100 million off the asking price. There was a catch though. Playboy's elderly owner Hugh Hefner had to be allowed to live in the mansion for the rest of his life.
Hefner's new landlord
As part of Hugh Hefner's new tenancy agreement, he had to pay Daren Metropoulos $1 million (£700,000) a year for upkeep of the property. Hefner is reported to have not actually ever owned the 20,000 square foot home. He actually leased it from Playboy Enterprises, from whom Metropoulos bought it. Hefner was reportedly only paying $100 (£70) a year to rent the place from Playboy Enterprises, so it was quite a rent increase when it came under new ownership!
Ringing in another sale
Around the same time as Daren was buying the Playboy Mansion, the Metropoulos brothers were arranging yet another brand sale. Hostess Brands was said to have been sold in July 2016 for $725 million (£510 million) to a private equity company, who went on to take it public. This was about a third more than the $410 million (£289.6 million) Metropoulos & Co. paid for it just three years before.
Metropoulos & Co is still snacking
Always on the lookout for a good deal, it was announced in October 2016 that Metropoulos & Co. had taken a significant stake in Utz Quality Foods, the largest salty snacks producer in America. The full details of the deal have not been disclosed, but it's thought to have been worth $146 million (£102.8 million). The Rice family, which has owned the business for four generations, still held a controlling stake, however.
Hugh Hefner dies
Hugh Hefner died of natural causes at the age of 91 in September 2017. Now that Daren has full control of the property he can pursue his goal of reconnecting the two estates and returning the combined 7.3 acre compound to the original vision created by its architect Arthur R. Kelly and its first owner, Arthur Letts Jr., the department store heir. Whether he also intends to reap a commercial benefit from the restored estate is not yet known.
Chips still on the up for Metropoulos & Co.
In January 2018, just 15 months since making its investment in Utz Quality Foods, Metropoulos & Co. sold its equity stake in the chips company. The terms of the deal are not yet known, but it will provide Daren with more time to work on the Playboy Mansion and give the Metropoulos family another opportunity to look around for another undervalued brand to plough their expertise and money into.
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