David Steiner, former CEO of Houston-based Waste Management, said he was expecting his $6.9 million Malibu home to be a loss after seeing pictures of the fire laying waste to neighboring houses.
"It certainly was emotionally draining when I thought it was gone," Steiner told Eyewitness News from his vacation home in Aspen.
But then pictures of Steiner's house began circulating in news coverage. You can see it still standing amidst the charred rubble of other homes along the Pacific Coast Highway.
"I don't use the word miracle. I say that it's great architecture, brave firefighters, and maybe a little dash of miracle," Steiner said.
Steiner said he bought the house in 2015 when two of his sons were attending area colleges.
"We bought the house so that when we came out to visit them, we could have a place to stay," he said.
Unlike some of his Malibu neighbors, Steiner said he never lived in the house full-time and still calls Houston home.
"To see their houses destroyed, I tell everybody I lost a piece of property, they lost their homes, they lost their memories," he said.
Steiner believes his house stood a better chance against the wildfire because of its concrete design, which he says may have originally been intended to help it withstand earthquakes.
He's hoping to make it to Malibu in the coming week to check for smoke or water damage. Because of a wildfire clause in his insurance policy, he's only insured for 50%.
But depending on where the housing market goes, he said he may still come out ahead.
"There is a possibility that I'm going to reap a financial reward from this ... If that's the case, I want to make sure to give some of that back to the victims," he said.
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