Billionaire Accused of Stealing Sand From Public Beach in Malibu for Use at $30M Home

Billionaire Mark Attanasio, who owns the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team, has been accused of stealing sand from Malibu, California’s Broad Beach.

A lawsuit was filed by James Kohlberg, Attanasio’s next-door neighbor, alleging that the billionaire businessman had been excavating sand from the public beach to use for an ongoing construction project at his home, reported the Los Angeles Times.

“This case is about a private property owner using a public beach as their own personal sandbox and the disturbing conversion of a public natural resource (i.e., sand from Broad Beach) for a nearby homeowner’s personal, private use,” the lawsuit said, as the Los Angeles Times reported.

The lawyers representing Kohlberg accused Jilk Heavy Construction — Attanasio’s construction team — of using gigantic excavators that leaked oil into tidal zones, exposing marine life to toxic byproducts. The lawsuit also alleges that public access to the beach was restricted by the construction.

In California, all beaches are public up to the furthest point of the high tide line.

Kohlberg and Attanasio both own homes along the Malibu beach, which has been experiencing significant erosion due to extreme weather fueled by the climate crisis.

A local homeowners’ association started the Broad Beach Restoration Project in 2011. Four years later, celebrity residents — including Dustin Hoffman, Pierce Brosnan and Ray Romano — contributed $31 million to a coastal restoration and sand replenishment project along the beach, reported The Guardian.

As the lawsuit states, in March, Attanasio obtained repair permits for a damaged portion of the seawall along his two adjacent Broad Beach properties, one of which is an empty lot.

In June, the excavation began in the tidal and intertidal zones of the beach, scooping out sand from the public portion of the beach onto Attanasio’s property.

“2XMD and its principals have owned property on this beach for decades and have served as stewards for beach restoration and preservation of natural resources,” Kenneth A. Ehrlich, Attanasio’s attorney, said of his company, 2XMD Partners, as The Guardian reported.

Ehrlich added that 2XMD “is in the midst of a fully-permitted emergency repair of the property to protect it from ocean forces.”

Attanasio purchased his home in 2007 for $23 million. Ten years later, he paid $6.6 million for the empty lot next door, reported the Los Angeles Times.

The lawsuit accuses Attanasio of public and private nuisance, as well as violating the California Coastal Act — a 1976 state law governing the preservation, development and public access of the state’s stunning coastline. The action calls for construction to cease, replacement of the sand and the issuance of fines.