McLean: Address of the Three Most Expensive Homes In Metro Area

The top three most expensive homes in the Washington area are located in McLean, according to the May issue of Washingtonian Magazine.

Washingtonian published a list of the "50 Most Expensive Homes (And Who Lives in Them). The seven other top ten properties were all located in prestigious Washington neighborhoods such as Georgetown, Kent.

These castles of McLean line the Potomac Palisades. They are neighbors  on Chain Bridge Road sequestered on large wooded lots, hidden behind heavy locked gates ladened with cameras and jaw-dropping price tags.

Here's a list of the homes and their owners based on information from The Washingtonian and information contained in property tax records in both Fairfax and Arlington County.

Number 3. $20.3 million. Rodney Hunt owns two properties that are actually located in Arlington County but with a McLean zip code.

His 70,000 square foot mansion assessed for $20.3million, resembles a French chateau in size, architecture and grandeur. The White House is 55,000 square feet. The Breakers, the Vanderbilt mansion in Newport is 65,000 square feet.

The second property he owns, a vacant lot, is assessed for $2.5 million.

Virginia Business said Hunt was the co-founder, president & CEO of RS Information Systems Inc. The company was  sold in 2008 to Southern California company that specializes in aerospace engineering. According to BlackEnterprise.com, Hunt owned 75 percent of the company and estimated that his share of the sale was in the $800 million to $1.2 billion range, Virginia Business reported.

He now runs the Rodney P. Hunt Family Foundation whose mission is to provide a means by which our most “at risk” children receive the support, leadership and mentorship needed to succeed in the future, according to the Foundation website.

The heavy ornate wrought gates that wall off the property each contain a large "H" in its design.

Number 2. $20.4 million.  Merrywood, this childhood home of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, is now owned by AOL Co-Founder Steve Case.

Case bought this storied home in 2005, for $24.5 million. It's now assessed at $20.4 million, according to Fairfax tax records.

The estimated 18,000 square foot Georgian brick mansion was built in 1919 and includes consists of nine bedrooms, 11 full baths and seven fireplaces. There is a separate pool house with enclosed pool and tennis courts, according to Fairfax records.

Washingtonian reports there is also a carriage house with staff quarters.

Steve Case, born in Hawaii, put America Online. He left the company in 2005.

Number 1. $45.5 million. The Falls. Owner Jim Kimsey, Co-Founder of AOL, also owns two properties, which straddle the Fairfax/Arlington County line. Kimsey and Case lead AOL during its lucrative years.

Arlington assessment records show Kimsey owns a 60,000 square foot castle assessed at $33 million.

Plus he owns a 23,000 square foot home assessed at $11.5 million. Fairfax County assessment records show small one-story house owned by Kimsey valued at nearly $2 million.

Washingtonian reported this is a guest house originally designed by Frank Llloyd Wright.

James V. Kimsey is a native Washingtonian. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point. He served three combat tours as an airborne ranger, two in Vietnam. In July 2005, Mr. Kimsey was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame. Kimsey is best known for creating the largest company ever started in the Washington, DC area – America Online, Inc. He currently serves as Chairman Emeritus, according to his bio.

Other McLean residents with mansions on the list:

• $9.9 million. Developer Dwight Schar, who lives on Chain Bridge Road next door to Steve Case.
• $8.1 million. Alan Dabbiere who owns Hickory Hill and is totally renovating and expanding it.
• $8.1 million. Earl and Amanda Stafford, who live off of Georgetown Pike.
• $8 million. Randall Odeneal, a broadcasting tycoon, according to Washingtonian.
• $7.7 million. Suzanne and David Hillman who also live just off Chain Bridge Road.
• $7.5 million. Peter and Nina Fitzgerald. He is the chairman of Chain Bridge Bank and a former U.S. Senator from Illinois.