After 10 grueling years, Nile Niami has found the one fit to buy “The One” and rule them all, and that person is Richard Saghian, founder and CEO of apparel behemoth Fashion Nova. As was first revealed by the L.A. Times, it was Saghian who made the winning $126 million offer to buy Niami’s still-unfinished Bel Air monster mansion, outbidding four other billionaires. Per the sales agreement, Saghian will cough up a grand total of about $141 million for the property, an amount that includes a 12% buyer premium to the auction house.
But as of now, no money has actually changed hands. The sale will need to be court-approved by the judge overseeing the bankruptcy proceedings of Niami’s cash-strapped LLC, which still holds title to the 3.8-acre estate and its 105,000-square-foot, Paul McClean-designed house. An official decision on the transfer is scheduled for March 21.
Born and raised in Beverly Hills by Iranian immigrant parents, Saghian isn’t exactly a household name. But just about every millennial and Gen Z-er on the planet has heard of Fashion Nova, which launched online in 2014 and quickly rose to prominence on Instagram thanks to fans like Cardi B and the Kardashians, who often display themselves wearing the brand’s inexpensive (and sometimes daringly revealing) garments. It was Fashion Nova who helped pioneer the controversial “fast fashion” trend and inspired a deluge of copycat, cut-price clothing brands; today, the company reportedly generates hundreds of millions in annual revenue.
Despite Fashion Nova’s affordability, Saghian himself loves luxury. Last year, he paid Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and his wife Nicole Avant $14.7 million for an oceanfront Malibu home that was once owned by actor David Spade. But since 2018, Saghian’s main residence has been a strikingly contemporary mansion in the Bird Streets neighborhood of Los Angeles that — could it be a coincidence? — was also designed by Paul McClean. In fact, it was once…