A tech entrepreneur’s recent sale of an 1,119-acre Sonoma estate may be the largest in the region’s history, as AI-driven tech interest in large properties in the North Bay accelerates.
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Tech entrepreneur Donald McKinney on Aug. 21 sold the Sonoma Mountain Road property for $38.5 million — a new record in the county, according to realtor Kristie Eddy of Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty.
The area’s previous record with a $30 million sale was set in 2010, Eddy and fellow listing agent Michael Dreyfus said.
McKinney first offered the property last year for around $50 million, according to The Wall Street Journal, before listing it in May for $39.995 million.
He bought the land, zoned for grazing animals, in 2014 for about $12 million. McKinney dubbed his estate “the Summit,” as it features private lakes and swimming holes, pump houses, greenhouses and barns. He spent more than $30 million on upgrades, adding a mansion in 2016 with 10 bathrooms,10 bedrooms and a four-car garage.
Images of a Sonoma County property owned by Don McKinney listed by Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty. (Jacob Elliott)
Images of a Sonoma County property owned by Don McKinney listed by Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty. (Jacob Elliott)
(Jacob Elliott)
The owners declined to comment on the buyer’s identity or why they were selling.
According to the Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor, the property was transferred Aug. 21 to WCR Property 1 LLC, a Los Angeles-based limited liability company formed July 22. McKinney transferred the property to Sonoma Mountain Ranch LLC in 2024.
Before ownership by the McKinney family, the property was used for cattle grazing.
Eddy said that because she and Dreyfus signed detailed non-disclosure agreements, very few details about the sale could be made public.
“This market segment frequently is focused on privacy, it’s number one for them,” she said. “A lot of homes in Sonoma County are second properties, which is why they’re bought very quietly and privacy is key.” She said the sale “reflects the depth of demand for truly singular Wine Country estates.”
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The purchase highlights the growing demand for property in the region among wealthy tech buyers profiting from the artificial intelligence boom.
Other realtors have in previous months told The Press Democrat there is a growing appetite for North Bay real estate coming from AI and hospitality interests in the Silicon Valley, as tech investors seek to purchase second properties in Wine Country. Compass real estate agent Emily Beaven has also marketed the region to San Francisco buyers as that market sees “a mansion shortage,” saying in an Instagram post “More and more buyers are looking north because they can’t buy in San Francisco.”
Eddy agreed that her team has been seeing the phenomenon growing, with buyers investing more than $100 million in the “ultraluxury space,” or properties listed for $10 million and up.
“There is a flurry of activity in this space that we have not seen in a few years, I think, as people are recognizing what Wine Country offers,” Eddy said. She added she thinks many wealthy buyers want the flexibility to drive to offices in San Francisco and the Peninsula, while enjoying “a very private lifestyle, a different pace.”
Eddy said The Summit, like some large estates and ranches listed in the North Bay, was not listed with the intent to sell to a buyer planning to redevelop the land.
“A lot of the buyers want to maintain the land in its natural form,” Eddy said. “I grew up in this valley, so I love seeing these (properties) not being carved apart. They’re not being sold to developers, they’re being sold in their natural, beautiful state.”
McKinney has previously identified himself as a conservation advocate. He was among a group of Sonoma Mountain neighbors who sued the city of Petaluma over its plans to improve public access to the city’s Lafferty Ranch Open Space, a 270-acre preserve on Sonoma Mountain east of Petaluma.
That lawsuit was eventually tossed.
Staff Writer Natalie Hanson reports on business and agriculture for The Press Democrat. She can be reached at [email protected] or at 619-665-5887.
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