Lavish ‘Empire’ Mansion in Illinois Sells for Less Than Half Its Original Price

Do you remember the TV show Empire? While the show has long since ended, the mansion that was heavily featured in it remains. The owner might have just wanted too much for it.

A Barrington Hills Mansion Once Listed for $15.9 Million Just Sold

That's because the mansion that sits in the Barrington Hills suburb of Chicago has just sold, albeit at a significantly reduced price, initially listed in 2013 for a whopping $ 15.9 million. The now-previous owner of the crib sold it for an astonishing 6.5M, making it the second most expensive sale ever in Barrington Hills, just behind a $7.5M mansion sold in 2012.

It Finally Sold—But the Owner Took a Massive $10M Hit

While none of us would sneeze at a nice $6.5M home sale, it's got to hurt to take nearly $10M off the asking price in 12 years. It's a shame, too, because this was not an ugly pad. It was named Illinois' most beautiful home for sale by Architectural Digest back in 2017.

Keep Reading: Report: Rockford Has America’s Worst Property Taxes

Not a Bad House to Lose Sleep Over

The seller, Salvatore "Sam" Cecola, co-owner of the Admiral Theatre strip club in Chicago, had seen the home under contract a few times since he relisted it for sale in 2022, but both attempts had failed.

Third Time’s the Charm for Selling This Mansion

Third was the charm, however, as Cecola managed to sell his six-bedroom, eleven-bath palace, which features a walnut-paneled library, elevator, home theater, full bar and kitchen, and a poker and billiards room.

The home features a large outdoor pool, a fire pit, and a private dock and is situated on a gorgeous 8.5-acre property.