There is a private zoo with zebras, elands and tortoises.
There are 20,000 lemon trees.
There is a two-acre lake, a cigar lounge and a meditation room.
The former home of Herbalife co-founder Dick Marconi has hit the market for $25 million, and the listing reads like someone was trying to win a bet about how much you can fit on 1,225 acres.
What $25 million buys you in southern California
Marconi Ranch sits near San Juan Capistrano, bordering Caspar’s Wilderness Park. The main residence is a 5,000 sq ft Tuscan-inspired mansion with four bedrooms, three bathrooms and vaulted ceilings finished with tongue-in-groove planks.
The master suite has a marble bath and walk-in closets. The kitchen has a marble island.
There is also an office, an art studio, a workout centre, a wine and cigar lounge, and a two-bedroom guest house with staff quarters.
Outside is where the property gets strange. The working farm produces Eureka lemons from over 20,000 trees, olives from 1,000 Pistoia trees, plus organically farmed grapefruit and tangerines.
The private zoo houses the zebras and other animals across grounds that include a pool complex, four ponds and the lake.
The man who built it
Marconi died in 2024 at the age of 91. His story followed a trajectory that sounds engineered for a biopic.
He moved from Indiana to California in the late 1950s with $500, went on to found supplement company D&F Industries, then co-founded Herbalife, the nutrition shake giant that became one of the most recognisable and controversial multi-level marketing brands in the world.
He also built a racing team to support his son’s interest in motorsport, eventually getting behind the wheel himself. At 57, he became the oldest driver to compete in the Long Beach Grand Prix.
His car collection now forms the Marconi Automotive Museum and Foundation for Kids.
Why it matters
Herbalife has spent decades as a lightning rod for debate about MLM business models, with critics calling it a pyramid scheme and the company repeatedly pushing back.
Marconi’s ranch is, in a very literal sense, what the proceeds of that argument look like.
Properties tied to controversial fortunes always attract attention when they hit the market, and a $25 million estate with its own zoo is not the kind of listing that passes quietly.
For anyone tracking the intersection of wealth, personal branding and the supplement industry, this is a physical monument to all three.
The listing – which features on Top Ten Real Estate Deals is held by Lance Doré and Francine Howard at California Outdoor Properties. No word yet on what happens to the zebras.
