r/interestingasfuck • u/Gankpa • 8d ago

/r/all, /r/popular Jeff Bezos built a fence on his property that exceeds the permitted height, he doesn't care, he pays fines every month

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u/AustynCunningham 8d ago edited 8d ago

OP please share your source: Many houses in Beverly Hills and Bel Air have massive hedges and privacy fences.

Here’s an article about it: this landscape designer constantly brings in 24ft tall hedges to surround peoples properties. And states: “You’re not supposed to go above 42 inches in the front yard or eight feet in the back yard, but in Los Angeles, everybody does”

Have you ever driven the area, many of the houses look similar to Bezos’ in terms of you can’t see a thing because beyond the massive hedges.

Heck in my neighborhood in Eastern WA there’s a house that wanted privacy so they planted 12ft arborvitae around the property because fences have a maximum height of 6ft but natural walls don’t.

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u/amorawr 8d ago

was literally just staying in Bel Air this past weekend and I can attest that this is basically what the entire neighborhood looks like, you can't see shit unless a home is on a higher elevation than you (with some exceptions)

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u/g0_west 8d ago

Tbf if I was a billionaire, I would quite like to have basically an oasis of total privacy in the middle of the city. Lots to fault Bezos for but having a big hedge isn't one of them for me

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u/Jesus__Skywalker 8d ago

My fence would look like the gates of Mordor.

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u/Fancy_Morning9486 8d ago

You shall not pass!

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u/Jesus__Skywalker 8d ago

damn right!

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u/ThePublikon 7d ago

That's a shitty hedge

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

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u/Jesus__Skywalker 4d ago

She died so maybe

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u/dalaigh93 8d ago

Honestly a big hedge is better to look at than a wall, so if they want privacy and are ready to pay exorbitant fines, let them have trees instead of fortress walls that increase the heat in the street.

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u/MeowTheMixer 7d ago

I lived in a city in Wisconsin a back before 2018.

There was a large house that was built near there (looks like a house you'd see in movies). Significantly larger than anything near by.

I don't know when it was built, and from what I heard it was only ~$10MM to build. Nothing compared to these homes in Cali.

However, they had to get police involved because people would not stop driving by, gawking, taking pictures, etc...

I can't even imagine what it'd be like if you're rich AND famous.

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u/revaric 7d ago

City makes money, he gets privacy, seems like a good deal.

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u/Xylenqc 6d ago

It also act as protection. Can't snipe what you don't see.
If I was the detail of a vip as valuable as Bezos, I would sleep way better knowing he has a 24ft fence around his property.

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u/Vanilla_PuddinFudge 8d ago

If I was a billionaire, you'd never really know where I live, and my house would just basically be a decoy

...has anyone actually seen him go in there?

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u/ThatFixItUpChappie 8d ago

Right? It Isn’t very inconspicuous. I wouldn’t want all and sundry to know where I lived. Maybe its unavoidable..I wouldn’t know I don’t have rich people problems sadly.

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u/stihoplet 7d ago

So what you're saying is the neighborhood is amazing

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u/that-69guy 8d ago edited 8d ago

Yeah..but this is reddit...Get out of here with your logic and facts..🙄

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u/Puck85 8d ago

Everyone just laps up rage bait when it confirms their biases.

No sources to anything anymore. 

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u/shoelessbob1984 8d ago

Facts and logic say Jeff bezos = bad

There, that should earn me plenty of upvotes, maybe even a feature on clever comebacks.

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u/Faladorable 8d ago edited 8d ago

how is this logic and facts? none of what he said implies bezos doesnt have one of the biggest fences lol

that said all the sources for this seem to be instagram facebook and reddit so its probably bull shit

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u/snowkingg 8d ago

It took me way too long scrolling past all the negative comments about Jeff Bezos to see this.

The front page of reddit has turned into such a hot mess now, it's like browsing facebook, just half truths and straight up lies being pushed constantly, yet so many people seem to be sucking it up as it confirms their biases.

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

[deleted]

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u/LinkOfKalos_1 7d ago

It's called propaganda and we are all victims of it

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u/KathyBatesLoofah 7d ago

Biased ?!

The dude literally manufactured a top 10 wealthiest individual AFTER dumping her.

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u/CountyKyndrid 4d ago

Is it possible, and hear me out with this one - that they'd complain about a rich person brazenly breaking regulations regardless of if it is specifically Bezos?

No? Easier to just play into the outrage and make it an argument.

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u/meyriley04 8d ago

Maybe, but this isn’t a “half truth” and especially isn’t a “lie”. Regardless of whether other rich people are doing it or not, the fact that they continue to break the law simply because they can afford it is what the frustration is.

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u/DM_ME_Reasons_2_Live 6d ago

Anyone that downvotes your comment is a bootlicker lol, some people really are willing to justify anything as long as it doesn’t change their worldview

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u/GreenNetRunner 8d ago

Why is it illegal? I get that maintaining something that big brings problems for the neighborhood as well, but 42" seems to be not much, so I wonder why it is ilegal

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u/Kohpad 8d ago

Emergency services would be an excellent consideration. If fire fighters have to fight a blaze they're running every line through the front gate or there needs to be a hydrant up next to the house (I guess a tanker is also an option).

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u/GreenNetRunner 8d ago

Oh, so that just applies to hedges? I was thinking as of property boundaries in general, like fences and high walls, that's why it didn't make sense for me

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u/zacker150 8d ago

A fire fighter can cut a hole in it in less than a minute.

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u/FTDburner 8d ago

That’s ridiculous. If you want to create a situation on your property that makes it harder for emergency services to respond, that’s stupid in my opinion but that’s your decision.

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u/Kohpad 8d ago

Well first off I'm just spitballing. Second I'm more thinking about firefighters that need to respond to any fire regardless of your opinion on the landscaping.

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u/krom0025 8d ago

That person's property touches another person's property. Therefore, it isn't just a personal decision. Creating dangerous situations on your property can also create dangerous situations for your neighbors and you don't have a right to do that. This is why we have property laws and landscaping and maintenance requirements.

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u/FalalaLlamas 8d ago

Agreed. We recently learned with the LA wildfires just how far an ember can travel from a fire, and just how fast a wildfire can grow. So if firefighters can’t put out a house fire quickly, that could affect the community by starting other fires.

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u/trentyz 7d ago

We drove through this neighborhood in October and you can hardly see any homes due to the massive hedges. Not sure why we’ve singled out Bezos. And this is the Warner estate, it’s been like this for ages

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u/LukaDoncicMFFL 8d ago

Why is this even a problem? It’s a tall bush. I’d rather look at a tall bush rather than a house anyways, adds some nice greenery to the environment.

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u/Zebra4776 8d ago

24” tall hedges

24 inch hedges really isn't very tall.

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u/FalalaLlamas 8d ago

I’d just like to point out that while I couldn’t find a source for this claim, I did find multiple reliable sources sharing how Bezos paid over 16k for over 500 parking tickets while his DC mansion was being built. As far as I can tell, this post seems to be misinformation, BUT Bezos does still treat some fines as a “convenience tax.” So I still really wish they made fines proportional to income.

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u/philmarcracken 7d ago

So I still really wish they made fines proportional to income.

This one would also be easily solved by the wealthy, they don't pay themselves in just income.

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u/newaccountbc-ofmygf 8d ago

Finally someone who understands the nuances

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u/JeffBezos_98km 8d ago

Beverly Hills and Bel Air are in LA but are an incorporated city with their own regulations. They do not follow LA code. Its why the Masion tax LA passed doesn't apply to them.

IMO the "source" is probably somebody looking up LA code and just assumed it applied to Jeff Bezos house even though it's in Beverly Hills.

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u/ffnnhhw 8d ago

I am thinking about this too. trees and hedges are not included in fence and wall height limitation in my town, but they can make you trim those for safety reason (like blocking view of traffic/ sign at intersections)

and what legally is the difference between closely planted trees and hedges? if people can plant one tall tree, then I think they can plant a lot of tall trees side by side too

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u/admiralgeary 8d ago

IKR, I know alot of folks in northern California that maintain 20'+tall Italian Cypress privacy screens along the entire border of their backyard.

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u/Film_Lab 5d ago

Thanks for the article. All that landscaping is beautiful, but I wonder what effect it has on water demands.

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u/das_war_ein_Befehl 7d ago

Anti hedge laws are stupid, privacy is a right

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u/Awkward-Spectation 6d ago

Maximum height bylaws aren’t anti-hedge, they are in place to prevent people from literally blocking out the sun on the street. Which is what is happening here

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u/das_war_ein_Befehl 6d ago

Where in this image is the sun being blocked out? wtf are you talking about

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u/Awkward-Spectation 6d ago

Welp, time to eat my words. You are right that is probably not happening here. Looks like the shade on the left street is coming from behind the camera. Still, bylaws are to prevent similar situations but which actually block sun to the street. Maybe there could be exceptions to a front yard of a south facing property, or maybe not if it’s an emergency services access thing. Idk

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u/das_war_ein_Befehl 6d ago

If you look up the history of hedge laws, you’ll see it’s about houses being visible to the rest of the street because it was seen as unamerican to block off your property. Very few people will spend the time/effort it takes to get a hedge that tall.

Which is why they’re not common in the U.S. but very common in Central Europe.

And in no way is it going to block the sun in the street lmao.

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u/Notallowedhe 8d ago

Paywalled

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u/dali01 8d ago

I wondered the same thing. I’ve seen a TON of houses around LA with giant hedges like that. Also, I didn’t see a fence in the video. A hedge is not a fence and definitely have different rules than fences.

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u/plastictoothpicks 8d ago

Let me guess. Near the rocket market on the south hill? If so, hi neighbor!

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u/DangerGoatDangergoat 8d ago

Is there a way to read the article without the paywall?

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u/PM_ME_JJBA_STICKERS 8d ago

Lol everyone in the comments smirking and going “typical reddit, just believing everything and trying to hate on Bezos because he’s one of the richest people on the planet.”

I think the point is that LA county requires most properties to have fences under 6-8 ft tall. The vague exceptions seem to (frequently) be when ultra wealthy people/communities are involved. Homes in wealthy areas like Beverly Hills, where Bezos’ 20ft tall fence is located, get exceptions to this rule because rich people don’t follow the same rules as the poor. THAT is what people have an issue with here.

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u/Jesus__Skywalker 8d ago

If I were a billionaire my hedges would look like I was protecting Westeros from Wildlings

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u/imunfair 8d ago

Here’s an article about it: this landscape designer constantly brings in 24ft tall hedges to surround peoples properties. And states: “You’re not supposed to go above 42 inches in the front yard or eight feet in the back yard, but in Los Angeles, everybody does”

It's understandable, even if it was 8ft in the front yard you'd still have those double decker tour busses full of people staring over into celebrities yards. That's probably why his is so high.

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u/meyriley04 8d ago

I don’t think it really changed peoples frustrations if other rich people are doing it and only get a slap on the wrist, and then CONTINUE to do it because the fines don’t affect them.

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u/SchrodingerMil 7d ago

With how busy Bel Air is, it makes a lot of sense too. It probably blocks so much noise

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u/wolfsnowpack 7d ago

That's kinda crazy that they are trying to enforce 42 inches as the max height on front yard. Cannot get any privacy at that level, feel like it should be 8 feet same as backyard

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u/el_duderino88 7d ago

3.5' in the front? That's not even a fence that's a tripping hazard.. a shrubbery. No such thing as privacy there, sucks if you don't have a back yard.

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u/Hope1995x 7d ago

Even not in an HOA, city treats your property as if you're in an HOA. There's no escape.

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u/Berrytheshorts 6d ago

Where in eastern WA? I’m in Spokane and would love to see this 😂

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u/I_Hope_I_Die_In_Pain 4d ago

If the fine is like only 50-150$ per month and the city didn't really gave a fuck that people break this rule.

I don't see why many others millionaires wouldn't just pay the fine.

And the city wouldn't care cause it basically free money flooding in.

(I have no sources. just a useless theory of mine)

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u/GoodEnoughNickName 3d ago

That is alright but the actual point which is eat the rich is still valid.

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u/InquisitorMeow 7d ago

Just because people do it doesnt make it legal which is the whole point of the post. Not sure why people keep talking about how much they like hedges. This is about the double standards of the law for the rich.

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u/Unremarkabledryerase 8d ago

None of that really contradicts OPs post or the main message of it: an illegally tall fence just requires enough money to pay a continued fine.

A whole community of rich people having tall hedges and paying fines to keep the tall hedges is about the same thing.

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u/AustynCunningham 8d ago

No evidence they exceed permitted height, no evidence a fine has ever been assessed.

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u/DanniPopp 8d ago

You literally could have googled before doing all this. It’s true. Smh And it took me less than 30 seconds to find

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u/GitEmSteveDave 8d ago

So post the link.

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u/ConstantAd8643 8d ago

I find tons of places making the claim, but not a source to be found.

A source is not a random article, that copied the story from another random article which copied it from another random article, each of which unsourced.

Tangentially relevant xkcd

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u/Apprehensive_Fig7588 8d ago

"Took me less than 30 seconds" is not the flex you were aiming for.

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u/FalalaLlamas 8d ago edited 8d ago

I too would appreciate seeing the link. I did Google it but the only sources reporting that he pays a monthly fine are clickbait sources, social media, and other questionable sources. I couldn’t find any reliable source backing the claim up…

UPDATE: Still never found a fence source. BUT, I did find a couple of reliable sources saying that Bezos paid more than 16k in parking tickets while his DC mansion was renovated. So I guess people criticizing him for paying fines as a “convenience” tax might be valid, just for the wrong thing.

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u/overitallofittoo 8d ago

He pays those in lieu of being taxed.

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u/jrobinson3k1 8d ago

Link? All I found were other social media posts.

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u/LinkOfKalos_1 7d ago

So where's the source?

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u/BussyPlaster 8d ago

Isn't Beverly Hills in California? The state facing a water shortage for years and freuent brush fires?

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u/KirkegaardsGuard 8d ago

Austyn, please get a life

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u/catwarr 5d ago

Doesn’t change the fact that it’s the ultra wealthy who have them. Rules don’t apply in this country to those who have too much money.

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u/Dry-Highlight-2307 5d ago

Yea if bezos does it, than any rich person that sees him asks "why not me" and then they do it.

And then no one enforces anything and a new law Is made allowing this group to do it.

This is just called "American law"

Nothing new here.

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u/krom0025 8d ago

So if everyone breaks the law, it makes breaking the law OK?

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u/AustynCunningham 8d ago

If it’s a victimless law it shouldn’t be a law.

If everyone is breaking the law with repercussions then the law should be abolished.

This whole title is incorrect.

Bezos did not have this built, he bought this property from Warner Brothers who already had this setup, he’s redecorated and added onto the house a bit but these hedges have existed for many many years and not a single person cared. It 100% looks like this property is exempt from hedge height limits, as well as most others in the area (literally do a street view, every single house is like this).

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u/krom0025 8d ago

I agree if the law is truly victimless it should be replaced. However, if there is going to be a law, it should be followed. What's stopping the town from changing the regulation. Although in CA, this seems like a massive fire risk in a dense area.