Homes Of The World's Most Powerful Celebrities
There’s a certain kind of luxury real estate in Los Angeles that passes from celebrity to celebrity. Take the Beverly Hills estate thatRyan Seacrest is in escrow to buy for $37 million from Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi. The gated compound 
in Coldwater Canyon includes a 9,200-square-foot main house, plus three guest houses, a swimming pool and koi ponds.
in Coldwater Canyon includes a 9,200-square-foot main house, plus three guest houses, a swimming pool and koi ponds.
Perhaps its most valuable amenity: privacy. L.A. has ordinances that prevent new construction of high walls and hedges, which means there’s a limited inventory of homes that can keep prying eyes at a distance. The glitterati tend to trade them among one another.
“The number one feature celebrities need in a house is that it’s ‘stoparazzi,’ ” says Billy Rose, president of The Agency , a Los Angeles-area luxury real estate firm he co-founded with Mauricio Umansky, husband of reality TV star Kyle Richards of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. He says it’s not uncommon to drive a house-hunting celeb around L.A. with paparazzi in tow. His clients tend to like homes quietly tucked behind long, gated driveways, outfitted with extensive security systems and guard houses.
, a Los Angeles-area luxury real estate firm he co-founded with Mauricio Umansky, husband of reality TV star Kyle Richards of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. He says it’s not uncommon to drive a house-hunting celeb around L.A. with paparazzi in tow. His clients tend to like homes quietly tucked behind long, gated driveways, outfitted with extensive security systems and guard houses.
Forbes just released its annual Celebrity 100 list, a ranking of America’s most powerful stars. With the help of Realtor.com , Trulia .com and others, we’ve investigated where these actors, singers and personalities bed down for the night. We included homes bought and sold in the past year as well as a few long-term nests of the stars. Perhaps not surprisingly, most are nestled in and around the Los Angeles area.
, Trulia .com and others, we’ve investigated where these actors, singers and personalities bed down for the night. We included homes bought and sold in the past year as well as a few long-term nests of the stars. Perhaps not surprisingly, most are nestled in and around the Los Angeles area.
Jade Mills , a Coldwell Banker Previews International luxury real estate agent who has reportedly worked with everyone from Britney Spears to Jerry Seinfeld, says she has seen a lot of celebrity sales activity in Hollywood Hills and Trousdale Estates, Beverly Hills. Both neighborhoods offer seclusion. “Hollywood Hills … has a feeling of privacy,” explains Mills. “There are no windows on the front side of most homes there and then the whole back is explosive views.”
, a Coldwell Banker Previews International luxury real estate agent who has reportedly worked with everyone from Britney Spears to Jerry Seinfeld, says she has seen a lot of celebrity sales activity in Hollywood Hills and Trousdale Estates, Beverly Hills. Both neighborhoods offer seclusion. “Hollywood Hills … has a feeling of privacy,” explains Mills. “There are no windows on the front side of most homes there and then the whole back is explosive views.”Gallery: Homes Of The Celebrity 100
Take Katy Perry. Despite divorcing Russell Brand, the pop star is hanging onto the Hollywood Hills home the couple purchased for $6.5 million last summer. Grossing $45 million and No. 8 on Forbes’ Celeb 100 list, she is reportedly spending $1 million to remodel the estate, which features a 8,835-square-foot, three-story main house, guest house and a patio with swimming pool and rock features. The doomed duo recently unloaded a penthouse they shared in New York City’s celeb-centric TriBeCa neighborhood, where neighbors included Jay-Z and Beyonce and Bethenney Frankel. It sold for $2.75 million earlier this year.
last summer. Grossing $45 million and No. 8 on Forbes’ Celeb 100 list, she is reportedly spending $1 million to remodel the estate, which features a 8,835-square-foot, three-story main house, guest house and a patio with swimming pool and rock features. The doomed duo recently unloaded a penthouse they shared in New York City’s celeb-centric TriBeCa neighborhood, where neighbors included Jay-Z and Beyonce and Bethenney Frankel. It sold for $2.75 million earlier this year.
Jennifer Aniston (No 22 on the Celeb 100) has long favored Trousdale Estates herself. The A-list actress renovated and sold her Beverly Hills abode known as Ohana last year for just over $37 million, deciding to up and relocate to her hometown of New York City. After dropping $7 million on two neighboring Pre-War condos in the West Village, she fled back to L.A. after reported issues with, well, paparazzi. Less than a year later she has sold off her Manhattan digs for a half-million dollar loss, picked up a $21 million Bel Air estate in need of renovations and decided to shell out $40,000 per month on another Trousdale Estates home with four bedrooms, six and a half-baths and a gated driveway sure to ward off prying photographers.
with, well, paparazzi. Less than a year later she has sold off her Manhattan digs for a half-million dollar loss, picked up a $21 million Bel Air estate in need of renovations and decided to shell out $40,000 per month on another Trousdale Estates home with four bedrooms, six and a half-baths and a gated driveway sure to ward off prying photographers.
Many of the newest generation of Hollywood elite have been parking their newfound millions in property as well. Bieber Fever hit the real estate world recently when stories surfaced that Justin Bieber, No. 3 on the Celebrity 100, was angling to scoop up a Hollywood Hills lakefront Modern , crafted from glass, steel and concrete, for as much as $10.8 million. Turns out the home’s tenant, Ashton Kutcher (No. 51 on the Celeb 100), who had rented the 9,400-square foot home through tech startup Airbnb (in which he is an investor) following his split from Demi Moore, decided to beat his Punk’d partner to it. The “Two and a Half Men” star snapped up the hillside bungalow after the Biebs texted him while touring the house. “I had to buy the house because I thought he was going to buy it out from under me,” Kutcher jokingly admitted on Ji mmy Kimmel Live .
, crafted from glass, steel and concrete, for as much as $10.8 million. Turns out the home’s tenant, Ashton Kutcher (No. 51 on the Celeb 100), who had rented the 9,400-square foot home through tech startup Airbnb (in which he is an investor) following his split from Demi Moore, decided to beat his Punk’d partner to it. The “Two and a Half Men” star snapped up the hillside bungalow after the Biebs texted him while touring the house. “I had to buy the house because I thought he was going to buy it out from under me,” Kutcher jokingly admitted on Ji mmy Kimmel Live .
That didn’t deter the 18-year old Canadian pop singer from buying something else however. Bieber is said to have recently settled on a 10,000-square foot Calabasas, Calif. home in the celeb-centric gated neighborhood, The Oaks, where the Kardashian clan resides and famous renters have included Britney Spears. Boasting six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, two separate garages and an elevator, the home had been asking $6 million.
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