Matthew Perry sells Malibu recovery house that Chandler Bing bought

Matthew Perry sells Malibu recovery house that Chandler Bing bought

Not long after the long-running and beloved TV show "Friends" went off the air (b. September 1994, d. May 2004), actor Matthew Perry bought this 2.5-acre property in Malibu.

It was an early buy in what would be a string of Los Angeles-area real estate exploits — and, it's now evident, one of his most profitable.

In 2005, Perry was still best known to the nation as the affable Chandler Bing on "Friends," a gig that paid him and his five co-stars a record-breaking $1 million an episode for its last two seasons — or a total of $44 million for Perry, not counting syndication rights or previous seasons' salaries.

With $6,550,060 of his windfall, he bought Malibu's "Pier House," as it's called in marketing materials. It has four bedrooms and six baths in its 5,500 square feet, and it's in a neighborhood called Serra Retreat that's been home to such celebrities as Mel Gibson and Britney Spears. (Click here or on a photo for a slideshow.)

He tried to sell it in 2011 for $13.5 million, but he took it off the market a few months later.

Ocean views from every room -- even the bathrooms. Click any photo for a slideshow.
Ocean views from every room -- even the bathrooms. Click any photo for a slideshow.

Instead, he let it be used as Perry House, run by addiction intervention and recovery specialist Earl Hightower. The actor has had trouble with substance abuse in the past and has been in rehab a couple of times. "I was a hopelessly narcissistic guy, and I only thought about myself," Perry told People magazine in 2013, "and then that just shifted, and when that happened, I got some true happiness and comfort in my life." His efforts to help addicts and people in recovery is the "thing I like the most about me," he said.

Perry House opened in early 2013, offering a "completely private facility and grounds" with "ocean views from every room," a "beautiful pool and spa," a "meditation area with fire pit," a "surround-sound theater" and "excellent home-prepared dinners" in an environment of "total client confidentiality," according to promotional materials. "Perry House sets a new standard in men’s sober living not just because of the beauty of the facility and its surroundings, but because of the mission, philosophy, and educational content that is demonstrated by the staff at Perry House."

The actor relisted his modern Malibu home last year at $12.5 million. He planned to continue his partnership with Hightower, this time opening a sober-living home in a more accessible part of L.A., the Los Angeles Times said last year.

The home is now under contract, the real estate agents told the Wall Street Journal, selling for "close to asking price." The list price of $12.5 million would almost double his 2005 investment of $6.6 million.

Click here or on a photo for a slideshow of the home that Chandler Bing bought, and that Matthew Perry transformed into a haven for addicts in recovery.

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