Jeff Bridges and siblings put Malibu property, benefiting from long-standing tax breaks, up for sale.

In the late 1950s, beloved actors Lloyd and Dorothy Bridges acquired a beachfront property along the Pacific Coast Highway. Initially costing around $50,000, the home has since appreciated into the millions. After Dorothy’s passing, the property was passed down to their three children, Jeff, Beau, and Lucinda Bridges, leading them to decide on a rental strategy to maintain its value. However, a series of events—including a devastating fire—has brought their story back into the spotlight, raising questions about the implications of California’s property tax laws.

The Bridges Legacy

Inheriting the beachfront home after their mother’s death in 2009, the Bridges siblings found themselves in possession of a valuable four-bedroom property. While splitting such an asset can be complex—for example, determining who gets to use it during holidays—the siblings opted to convert the home into a rental, allowing them to generate significant income without personal usage conflicts.

The property was rented out for $16,000 during the off-season and $25,000 in the summer, resulting in an estimated annual revenue of $200,000. After splitting this income three ways, each sibling received a share of approximately $67,000, all while facing minimal expenses apart from annual property taxes. Thanks to California’s tax regulations, the siblings’ tax bill remained relatively low, at around $5,700 per year—an amount easily covered by just 11 days of rental income.

California’s Property Tax Regulations

The Bridges’ favorable tax situation can be attributed to California’s Proposition 13, which limits property tax rates to 1% of assessed value and restricts annual increases to 2% unless the property is sold. Additionally, Proposition 58, passed in 1986, allows parents to pass their primary residences to their children without triggering a tax reassessment. This means that heirs can retain the lower tax rates established decades earlier.

Critics of this system argue that it results in disparities between homeowners in similar neighborhoods, where long-time residents benefit from lower taxes while new buyers face much higher rates. The inherited properties, like the Bridges home, had become symbols of what some legislators describe as a “two-tiered” tax system.

In response to growing concerns, California voters approved Proposition 19 in 2020, which imposes stricter rules on inherited properties by requiring heirs to use them as primary residences to retain certain tax advantages. However, this reform does not apply retroactively, allowing the Bridges siblings to maintain their favorable tax situation.

Recent Developments

Despite their inherited tax advantage, the Bridges siblings decided to list the home for $9.2 million in July 2024. However, when they failed to attract buyers, they reduced the listing price to $8.85 million just before a significant fire destroyed the property on January 7, 2025. A little over a year later, the cleared lot has returned to the market for $4.37 million.

Challenges for Future Owners

For a potential buyer considering this lot, the cost of rebuilding could be significant. Assuming they acquire the land for $4 million, high-end construction in Malibu is estimated at around $2,000 per square foot. Rebuilding a 3,000-square-foot home could easily reach $6 million, resulting in a total investment of approximately $10 million. Under current property tax regulations, this would lead to an annual tax bill of around $100,000—substantially more than the Bridges siblings ever faced.

While this tax burden may seem daunting, for a buyer able to commit $10 million to the acquisition and construction, it could be a manageable expense in the grand scheme of their finances.