$2.5-Million Retirement Home Bought for Reagans in Bel-Air

Friends have purchased a $2.5-million retirement home for President Reagan and the First Lady in the exclusive Bel-Air section of Los Angeles, Cable News Network reported Friday night.

White House and sources in Los Angeles said that nearly 20 friends set up a company called Wall Management Services Inc. to purchase the home on a 1-acre secluded lot.

They bought the estate last Aug. 21 with the understanding they would be reimbursed later by the Reagans, whose money is in a blind trust.

The First Lady’s press secretary told CNN the Reagans knew about the purchase but do not consider themselves legally bound to buy the house.

The house has a pool and 6,500 square feet of living space and is located in the same neighborhood where comedienne Joan Rivers and actress Elizabeth Taylor live.

The owner of the home, a 90-year-old woman, is leasing the property back from the new owners until the Reagans move in. Reagan’s term expires in January, 1989.

Among the nearly 20 friends on the board of Wall Management Services are longtime associates Holmes Tuttle and Earl Jorgenson.