KEY POINTS:
You can almost hear Citizen Kane turning in his mausoleum.
To pay for the upkeep of the late William Randolph Hearst's massive art collection, members of the paying public are to be allowed to stay overnight at his former home.
For the first time in 50 years, guests
will occupy the bedrooms at Hearst Castle, the hilltop folly where the newspaper mogul installed 25,000 works of art and artefacts, and entertained a Who's Who of Hollywood throughout the 1930s.
Although Hearst Castle has long been open to the public, visitors are normally required to join daytime tour parties.
The rare chance to stay at the massive complex is being sold in a one-off fundraising auction on eBay.
The winner will be allowed to recreate one of Hearst's legendary house parties, which saw politicians and powerbrokers rub shoulders with movie stars, including Carole Lombard, Charlie Chaplin and Clark Gable.
Guests would fly into his private airstrip at San Simeon, overlooking the Pacific Coast Highway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, before being installed in one of the castle's guest-houses, which were decorated with a bizarre mixture of priceless antiques.
The auction, which starts next Thursday, could challenge eBay's record for a single charity lot: the US$2.1 million ($3.2 million) paid for an eight-person lunch with Warren Buffett earlier this year.
Hearst, born in California in 1863, created a fortune by founding the world's first modern media empire. He dedicated his free time to buying art, antiques, and even entire historic monuments from European auctions. The castle was built to house his collection.
The building and its 100,000ha estate, with private zoo, rooms with wall-panelling from Tuscan monasteries and ceilings from churches, and two swimming pools were immortalised as "Xanadu" in Citizen Kane, Orson Welles' famed film portrayal of Hearst's life.
After Hearst's death, the castle was handed over to the California State Parks authority, who run it as a popular tourist attraction. But they have struggled in recent years to afford the upkeep and restoration costs.
Carol Schreiber of Friends of Hearst Castle, which is running the auction, said: "People see the numbers of visitors we have coming through the gate, and presume all their money goes to the castle, the truth is that it actually goes to to the state fund.
"We need an endowment to pay for our upkeep. It can be incredibly expensive. For example, six ceilings in the building are currently being restored, at a cost of US$500,000 per room."
The auction winner and a party of 10 guests will be allowed to swim in Hearst's Neptune pool, dine in the refectory, and watch films in his private cinema.
- INDEPENDENT