Beverly Hills

Tongva people inhabited the area before European settlement. Water from Franklin, Coldwater and Benedict canyons converged below the hills, shaping the area’s later ranching, agriculture and urban development.⁠[3]

California’s Mexican governor granted Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas to Maria Rita Valdez Villa. She operated a ranch and sold the land to Benjamin D. Wilson and Henry Hancock in 1854.⁠[3]

After unsuccessful oil exploration, Burton Green and his partners reorganized as the Rodeo Land and Water Company in 1906. Beverly Hills took its name from Beverly Farms, Massachusetts. Landscape architect Wilbur D. Cook planned the streets, with initial road construction in 1907.⁠[3]

The Beverly Hills Hotel was built to attract development and became a focus for community meetings, worship and entertainment.⁠[3]

Beverly Hills incorporated as a municipality. It is a California general-law city, governed by the state’s general municipal laws. Councilmembers are elected at large to represent the whole city rather than separate districts.⁠[4]

Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford developed Pickfair in 1919, followed by other film-industry residents. In 1923, voters rejected annexation to Los Angeles, preserving separate municipal government.⁠[3]

Beverly Gardens Park began with three blocks in 1907 and expanded east and west along Santa Monica Boulevard in 1930. Today it spans 23 blocks and approximately 1.9 miles, including the Beverly Hills sign and lily pond, Cactus Garden and Electric Fountain.⁠[5]

The first restoration phase began in 2014 with the lily pond and city sign, followed by the Electric Fountain in 2015. A second phase began in 2017 and included the Cactus Garden. The city records completion of phase three in May 2019. The work combined historic landscape restoration with water-efficient planting, irrigation and pedestrian improvements.⁠[5]

The Census Bureau counted 32,701 residents in 2020 and 34,109 in 2010. Its V2025 estimate for July 1, 2025 is 30,764, a 5.9% decline from the adjusted 2020 estimates base of 32,702. The census count and the subsequent estimates base differ by one person and are separate measures.⁠[2]

Section 1 of the Metro D Line extension opened with Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Cienega stations, the last serving Beverly Hills. Metro reported a one-seat journey of about 21 minutes from Union Station to La Cienega. Section 2 includes Beverly Dr station; the city’s page still listed it as under construction in October 2026, with completion scheduled for spring 2027.⁠[6][7]

Ryan Gohlich became city manager in July. On July 7, reelected councilmembers Sharona Nazarian and Lester Friedman and newly elected Rebecca Pynoos took office, joining Mayor Craig Corman and Vice Mayor Mary Wells on the five-member council. John Mirisch left after more than 17 years in office.⁠[8][9][10]

School of Hard KnocksSchool of Hard KnocksSchool of Hard Knocks is a business-interview media brand founded in 2021 by James Dumoulin, Jack Dumoulin and Joshua Smith, based in Austin, Texas. Its street interviews, long-form videos and podcast explore guests’ careers and business experiences. It also operates content services and the School of Mentors community.Open the full entry published Inside America’s Billionaire Neighborhood (Beverly Hills). Its chapters include street interviews, Marcus LemonisMarcus LemonisMarcus Lemonis (born 1973) is a Beirut-born American entrepreneur and television personality known for CNBC’s The Profit and his career in recreational-vehicle retailing. He left the chairmanship and chief executive role at Camping World Holdings at the end of 2025, becoming co-founder and special advisor in 2026. He is executive chairman and CEO of Neighborhood Intelligence, formerly Bed Bath & Beyond and Beyond.Open the full entry and a tour of James GoldsteinJames GoldsteinJames Goldstein, also known as James F. Goldstein and Jim Goldstein, is a Los Angeles-based property investor, architecture and fashion collector, and NBA fan. He has spent decades restoring and expanding the John Lautner-designed Sheats–Goldstein Residence and pledged the house, collections, and estate to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2016.Open the full entry’s home, reflecting a media portrayal centered on entrepreneurs and luxury property. The title is a media description rather than an administrative category or a population wealth statistic.⁠[11]

A September 29 city announcement set October 1 as the start of lower speed-limit implementation on selected streets, with signs to be replaced over the following weeks. The new limits become enforceable once posted. The city linked the change to safety, traffic surveys and state-law flexibility; October 1 did not mean every affected street had already received its new signs.⁠[12]

Five councilmembers serve four-year terms, with the mayor and vice mayor rotating annually within the council. The council sets policy, adopts the budget and enacts local laws; the city manager directs daily administration. The city provides police, fire and other municipal services.⁠[10][1]

Census Bureau estimates for 2020–2024 put the owner-occupancy rate at 41.0%, median owner-occupied home value at more than $2 million and median household income at $132,977 in 2024 dollars; 37.9% of residents were foreign-born. Retail sales totaled about $4.593 billion in 2022. These citywide measures differ from individual property valuations or personal fortunes.⁠[2]

City of Beverly Hills: Official website: https://www.beverlyhills.gov/ (opens in a new window).⁠[13]

City of Beverly Hills X: Official website: https://x.com/CityofBevHills (opens in a new window).⁠[14]

City of Beverly Hills YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Official website: https://www.youtube.com/user/cityofbeverlyhills (opens in a new window).⁠[14]

City of Beverly Hills LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Official website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/city-of-beverly-hills (opens in a new window).⁠[15]