The Playboy Mansion Is Up For Sale For $200m, But It Comes With Hugh Hefner

The Playboy Mansion is up for sale, but buyers beware: it comes with an 89-year-old lothario as part of the deal.

The famous house in Los Angeles was put on the market on Monday for $200 million (£138m), but its most famous occupant, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, will be allowed to remain on the property.

“The Playboy Mansion has been a creative centre for Hef as his residence and workplace… as it will continue to be if the property is sold,” said Playboy chief executive Scott Flanders in a statement announcing the sale.

Hefner bought the mansion for $1 million in 1971 and it has since become synonymous with excess and scantily-clad women.

It is famed for its wild parties, complete with Playboy “bunnies”, and was the promised land for readers of Playboy magazine.

But the five-acre property is in need of refurbishment despite its 29 rooms, wine cellar, home theatre and famous grotto - where bunnies and celebrities would soak in the swimming pool.

The Playboy Mansion is also home to animals such as peacocks, monkeys, parrots and pelicans - it has a unique zoo licence and a pet cemetery.

It replaced the original Playboy Mansion, which opened in Chicago in 1959.

Playboy is struggling to cope against the tide of pornography available on the internet and is trying to come up with a new business plan.

Last year, the magazine announced it would no longer publish pictures of fully naked women in its U.S. edition.

(Pictures: Rex)