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America's highest paid CEO puts giant Orinda estate for auction

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Bringing the gavel to bear on an eight-acre property

Orinda’s 10 Winding Lane is a whole lot of house. And then some.

Set in the Orinda hills just 2,000 feet from the Briones Reservoir, you’re looking at six beds, seven baths (plus thee half baths), and eight acres of land that includes two other buildings entirely. One is a carriage house made of "century-old recovered wooden beams" with an upstairs dining room so big (1,500 feet) that it’s been dubbed a "banquet room" instead.

There’s also a sports complex on the ground. While not uncommon for a property of this size to have a gym, it’s another thing when you throw in a golf course, a rock climbing wall, a yoga studio, sauna, squash courts, and a locker room.

Presently, the circa 1988 house belongs to none other than John Hammergren of McKesson Corporation, the highest paid CEO in America. Which, yes, does explain a lot about the property. Hammergren picked it up for a relative steal at $3 million in 1996 ($4.6 million after inflation), and offered it in May for $22.5 million.

[Update: We should point out that Hammergren is no longer the country's highest paid CEO, after he voluntarily surrendered a sizeable chunk of his compensation amidst a broader flap about CEO pay.]

It has sat on the market for five months without a buyer. And while that’s hardly unusual for a 23,400-square-foot house with an eight-figure price tag, the wait has engendered the somewhat creative step of putting it up for auction on October 27.

Just being a bidder on this place requires a deposit of $250,000. But if you’re in the market for a home like this in the first place, you won’t miss it.