• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, June 7, 2016

The iconic Playboy mansion, a patrician (some might say pretentious) symbol of the elegantly dissolute lifestyle led by Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, has been sold to a neighbor, according to the buyer’s representative.

Under the terms of the deal, Hefner is allowed to continue living at the mansion for the rest of his natural life, although it’s unclear if the Playboy Bunnies will remain as long-term house guests.

Hefner’s neighbor, private-equity investor Daren Metropoulos, bought the house for an undisclosed sum. The mansion was listed for $200 million, well above its appraised price of around $35 million, because of its famous back story.

Built in 1927 in the Holmby Hills neighborhood, the 22,000-square-foot Gothic-Tudor hybrid consists of 30 rooms sited on 5.3 acres of land. It includes a famed “grotto,” fancy talk for a cave with water, as well a zoo, aviary, movie theater, game house, tennis courts and pool.

Hefner acquired it for $1.1 million in 1971, which was rumored to be the highest price ever paid in Los Angeles up to that point.

Whatever the most recent sale price, the estate has obviously appreciated well, prompting Hefner to boast back in 2008 that “This was playboy’s best investment,” according to CBS News. On the other hand, it also entails considerable expense, as it requires a full-time staff of around 80, including butlers and maids, security and maintenance staff.

The sale comes amid Playboy’s ongoing reinvention as a “safe for work” lifestyle brand, which entailed dropping nudity from the print edition. In March, The Wall Street Journal reported that execs were considering putting the company up for sale with an asking price up to $500 million, due in large part to its strong licensing business.

Separately, Hefner has his own legal woes. Last month, the Playboy founder was named as a co-defendant alongside Bill Cosby in a civil lawsuit against the latter, following allegations that Hefner helped Cosby drug and sexually assault a young woman in 2008.