Two San Francisco luxury penthouses formerly owned by power couple George Shultz and Charlotte Mailliard Shultz will soon be on the market for a combined $29 million.
George Shultz, the former U.S. secretary of state who died in February 2021, and Charlotte Shultz, the former San Francisco and California state protocol chief who died the following December, occupied both Russian Hill penthouses soon after they were married in 1997.
The north penthouse, which will be listed for $17 million, is 5,380 square feet, and the south penthouse, which will be listed for $12 million, is 4,935 square feet.
Charlotte Shultz had owned the north penthouse with her former husband and real estate developer Melvin Swig, who owned the Fairmont Hotel. After the Shultzes married, they secured the south unit.
This sale marks the third time the combined properties will be on the market, said Gould. The first buyers of the apartments, which were built in 1964 and converted to condominiums in 1974, were San Francisco philanthropist Alfred Wilsey and his former wife, the author Pat Montandon.
“The views, the building, the piece of San Francisco — any one of these would make this exceptional, but the three of them together, there is nothing that compares,” said Gould. “You cannot find another property like this in San Francisco.”
When the Shultzes occupied the property, they used the three bedroom north penthouse as their main living quarters, and the three bedroom south penthouse as their leisure and entertainment space, where they would often host large parties.
But both penthouses share many of the same design features, including floor to ceiling glass walls, dramatic staircases and in-unit elevators to access each tower’s second floor – plus panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.
“You feel like you have a remote control for the world,” said Gould.
Hallways connect the units to each other, and both towers are located on the 32nd floor of the building, accessed by a private foyer with all silk fabric wallpaper and double doors.
The former home of late Secretary of State George Shultz was just put up for sale, and as it you might expect, it’s much more luxe than your run-of-the-mill government accommodations.
The property, in San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighborhood, encompasses two adjacent penthouse apartments, spanning about 10,400 square feet in total. The north penthouse is asking $17 million, while the south is listed for $12 million.
Shultz and his wife, Charlotte Mailliard Shultz, used the north penthouse as their main residence, Richard Bohonsky, Charlotte’s friend and interior designer, told The Wall Street Journal. (Both Shultzes died last year.) That home includes three bedrooms, two wood-burning fireplaces, two wet bars and a wood-paneled study, according to Karen Mendelsohn Gould of Compass, who is marketing the properties along with her colleague Max Armour.
Brad Knipstein
In the other condo, which the Shultzes mainly used as a guest residence and entertaining space, you’ll find three bedrooms and a wraparound terrace with views of the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. “It’s like box seats at the opera,” Gould told the WSJ. “You have this perfect view.”
The Shultzes were big on hosting, and the homes provide the perfect space in which to entertain guests. The spiral staircases and steel-framed floor-to-ceiling windows in both units are absolute showstoppers, and they’ve been admired by everyone from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to the singer Tony Bennett. Hallways connect the two residences, and one between the two kitchens was used frequently during parties. (Unfortunately, the homes can’t be combined because of their layouts.)
Charlotte bought the north penthouse with her then-husband in 1989 for $3.3 million. After she and George married, they bought the south penthouse in 1997 for about $5 million. Other changes the couple made to the homes include a catering refrigerator and two prep sinks in the south penthouse’s kitchen, a storage room with velvet-lined shelves for silver and a converted “gown room” that Charlotte used to store hundreds of dresses.
Brad Knipstein
While it seems like the Shultzes’ San Francisco home has everything one could need, the couple also kept residences in Massachusetts; Mendocino County, Calif.; and on the campus of Stanford, where George was a fellow.
Check out more images of the properties below.
Brad Knipstein
Brad Knipstein
Brad Knipstein
Brad Knipstein
Brad Knipstein
