Inventor and infomercial magnate Ron Popeil has spent his life selling some of America’s most iconic household items, including the Ronco Chop-o-Matic, the Veg-o-Matic, the Inside-the-Egg Scrambler, the Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ, and every burgeoning fashionista’s favorite tool, the Bedazzler.
Ron Popeil (Credit: Official Ron Popeil)
Now, Popeil is making one of his greatest sales pitches ever: the sale of his 150-acre Santa Barbara ranch nestled in the hills of the Santa Ynez Valley and San Rafael Mountains in California. President William McKinley established the ranch in 1897, which has become famous for its stunning views and expansive grove of 800 olive trees.
The property is listed for $4.9 million, according to the Los Angeles Times. McKinley’s original 1898 five-bedroom, three-bathroom adobe serves as the main residence, while guests can stay at the ranch’s two-bedroom guest house and enjoy hikes on one of the ranch’s numerous trails that outline several stables, pastures and riding arenas.
Known for the now-iconic sales phrases, “Set it and forget it” and “But wait, there’s more,” Popeil bought Rancho Quinta Ladera in 2007 for $2.1 million. He listed the home in 2014 for $4.95 million with Troy Hoidal of Truly Great Homes of Santa Barbara; however the home sat on the market for nine months.
Although Popeil spends the majority of his time at his Beverly Hills mansion, a Los Angeles Times report on Tuesday noted the QVC pioneer still ventures to Rancho Quinta Ladera to tend to his olive trees and produce bottles of fresh-pressed oil.
Popeil tapped Douglas Elliman’s Adam McKaig to sell the property this time around (though it appears that the listing is not yet public). Hopefully McKaig won’t have to use the countdown pricing methods Popeil made famous at the beginning of his career.
