Raphael Stevens
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Stevie Wonder Once Lived in This $11 Million Beverly Hills Home. Now It Can Be the Sunshine of Your Life.
One of Stevie Wonder’s former residences wants to take you to higher ground.
From 2011 to 2015, the legendary musician leased the 6,217-square-foot California digs set in Beverly Hills’s affluent Trousdale Estates neighborhood. The gated home at 600 Clinton Place was built in the 1970s with Hollywood Regency-style touches spanning four bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and a number of common spaces. Its spacious floor lets in an abundance of natural light and provides you with views of the Pacific Ocean from nearly every corner. If you’re looking to relocate, the luxe urban oasis can now be yours for $11 million.
Inside the Beverly Hills home’s living room with a fireplace and outdoor views.
Marc Angeles
Lush front yard landscaping leads to the home’s front door. The exterior is at once modern and regal. Inside you’ll find soaring ceilings, wood flooring, and classic white paint on the walls that give it a minimalistic finish. The living room lies just ahead with a spacious area for plush seating, as well as a double-sided fireplace and tall sliding doors that open out to the backyard.
Further in, you’ll find the chef’s kitchen with luxe stainless-steel appliances such as a double oven, island-set stovetop, and dishwasher. There’s an excess of cabinet space for storing extra groceries and easily finding dishware when hosting guests. Adjacent is a spacious formal dining area with a tall window offering backyard views. The home’s primary bedroom is set on the East Wing with newly renovated finishes, dual walk-in closets, and an ensuite bathroom. A fitness center, office, and four-car garage round out the indoor amenities.
“The walls in this home hold so much history from the ‘Wonder’ days and I had a feeling when I walked this home that if these walls could talk, you might hear Wonder and Quincy Jones re-living their 1972 You’ve Got It Bad album days,” says listing agent Holland Ashrafnia of the H Group at AKG | Christie’s in a statement.
Backyard views at night fall featuring an oval-shaped pool and city views.
Marc Angeles
The abode’s backyard, meanwhile, features a covered patio with recessed lighting and smooth stone flooring. It extends out horizontally with enough space to house lounge seating next to lush landscaping and an oval-shaped pool. Even better, the backyard serves up mesmerizing views of the LA cityscape.
For more details, contact agents Holland Ashrafnia, Aleks Lipovic, and Kyle Siwik of The H Group at AKG| Christie’s and Aaron Kirman of AKG | Christie’s who hold the $11 million listing.
Click here for more images of the home.
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Superstars Like Rihanna Are Renting Off-Market Private Properties to Stay at When They Travel
When a celeb goes on vacation, they could stay at a luxury resort with tons of amenities and people to tend to their every need. Or they can rent out a private home, often one that isn’t available on the rental market and that might actually be owned and occupied by a family.
The Wall Street Journal got a peek inside several U.S. properties where celebrities have resided in recent years, whether during a vacation or while working in a city where they don’t have their own home base. Many of these stays are handled in off-market, behind-the-scenes deals, and sometimes they can displace homeowners. But for the price that’s being paid, many find the inconvenience worth it.
For example, Spyro Malaspinas, a cybersecurity expert who lives in Paradise Valley, Arizona, rented out his five-bedroom home to Rihanna during this year’s Super Bowl. He bought the place for $7.3 million last year, and had no intention of renting it out to anyone. But when a property management firm he works with inquired with an offer for $500,000 a week, Malaspinas couldn’t say no. And at the time, he didn’t even know it was Rihanna who would be shacking up in his home. (Rihanna didn’t respond to the WSJ’s request for comment. Most other celebrities also didn’t respond, or they declined to comment to the newspaper.)
Similar deals have played out across the country, as stars and notable names try to find getaways that meet their exacting standards. In the summer of 2020, Mariah Carey rented a Bedford Corners, New York home owned by the former financial exec Jay Dweck. For $125,000 a month, the singer was able to enjoy the property’s six bedrooms, theater, 900-gallon aquarium, and violin-shaped swimming pool. Dweck, meanwhile, relocated to an Airbnb. After Carey’s stay, the home’s wooden floors had to be replaced—to the tune of $90,000—thanks to pock marks from her high heels. “She’s not the kind of person where someone says, ‘Mariah, take your shoes off,’” Dweck said.
The celebrity rental process requires a lot of dealmaking on the back end, with real-estate agents and others tapping into their networks to see what they can make work. Often, assistants or travel agents are liaising for VIPs, leaving their identities a secret and sometimes giving just a few days of lead time. And these renters are meticulous as to what they have in the house: Some bring their own bottled water, linens, flowers, air purifiers, or scents. One even had their bed shipped to Hawaii for vacation, a real-estate agent based in the state told The Wall Street Journal. Of course, none of that compares to how Prince made some crazy alterations to NBA star Carlos Boozer’s Bel Air manse in the early ’00s, including turning the weight room into a night club.
At the end of the day, the quick turns and need to abandon ship might not be so bad for homeowners, though. Malaspinas said that the income he gained from Rihanna’s stay will cover his mortgage payments for two years. And he hasn’t actually moved back into his Paradise Valley home just yet—offers of “crazy amounts of money” have come in for him to sell the place.
So although his rental allowed Rihanna to lie low for the week, it’s given Malaspinas more visibility than ever. More
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Susie Hilfiger’s Historic Connecticut Estate Just Listed for a Cool $18 Million
Before fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and Susie Hilfiger, his wife of 20 years, called it quits, they shared a country house in Greenwich, Conn. Now, she’s hoisted the historic estate that the estranged couple bought in the ‘90s onto the market.
Originally built in 1775, the sprawling 17-acre property dubbed Denbigh Farm is asking just shy of $18 million—which is actually a steal considering what it was listed for just a few years prior. When the Hilfigers purchased the abode, it was owned by the late Joseph Verner Reed Jr.—a former U.S. ambassador to Morocco. At the time, the manor was thought of as a place where their family could seek refuge and maintain a low profile. Although, in speaking with Architectural Digest, Susie admitted that they “instantly fell in love with it.”
Susie Hilfiger’s Connecticut compound, also known as Denbigh Farm, just listed for $17.9 million
Samuel Rodriguez & Steve Rossi for Sotheby’s International Realty
The home has seen several renovations throughout its lifetime, one at the hands of New York-based firm Albro & Lindeberg in the early 20th century and another by architect Allan Greenberg that was completed in the early 2000s shortly after the couple moved in. “The house deserved sensitivity and attention to detail,” Susie explains to AD. “It had amazing bones and an even better spirit. We redid everything: the roof, the plumbing, all the infrastructure.”
Today, the spread comprises a main shingle-roofed residence, along with a detached guest cottage, and two additional apartments located above the garage. Equestrian enthusiasts will enjoy a horse stable with six stalls, multiple paddocks, and a riding arena. The grounds also sport a carriage house, chicken coops, an apple orchard, a tennis court, and a swimming pool. Though, a children’s playhouse modeled after George Washington’s Mount Vernon is one of the more peculiar perks.
Susie renovated the 18th-century estate alongside her ex-husband and fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger,
Samuel Rodriguez & Steve Rossi for Sotheby’s International Realty
For the Sister Parish–inspired interiors of the main house, Susie tapped London’s Colefax and Fowler to tackle the design. All of the living spaces, in addition to the seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms, are decked out with colorful textiles, hand-painted wallpaper, and antiques that the Hilfigers have collected—including pieces that once belonged to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor that were acquired at auction in 1997. “We bought carpets, a pair of eagle-shaped consoles, and the famous blue sofa she kept at the end of her bed where she would keep her pug dolls,” Susie tells the magazine. “We even bought her green Venetian secretary where she conducted all her household business.”
While we imagine it’ll be hard to part ways with the dwelling that she’s owned for close to three decades, Susie revealed to the publication that she plans on moving to the West Coast to be closer to her kids. “I loved raising my children at Denbigh Farm, but now I’ve started a new chapter.”
Janet Milligan of Sotheby’s International Realty holds the listing.
Click here to see all the photos of Denbigh Farm.
Samuel Rodriguez & Steve Rossi for Sotheby’s International Realty More
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Inside the Roy Kids’ $83 Million L.A. Mega Manse That Starred in the ‘Succession’ Season 4 Premiere
In the season four premiere of Succession on Sunday night, Shiv (Sarah Snook), Kendall (Jeremy Strong), and Roman (Kieran Culkin) were busy plotting their new media start-up, The Hundred. However, more interesting than the bespoke information hub, described as “Substack meets Masterclass meets The Economist meets The New Yorker,” was the swanky Los Angeles mega-mansion they were holed up in.
We all know the Roys have no shortage of luxury properties under their belt, and it turns out, the real star of this season’s opener was a hilltop behemoth known as the San Onofre estate. (Although, it’s not clear who on the show it actually belongs to.) Originally built by celebrity developer Ardie Tavangarian, the Pacific Palisades manse was sold to a 26-year-old crypto billionaire for a whopping $83 million in 2021 following a short stint on the rental market. At the time, the transaction broke two residential sales records for the area.
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Perched high up on a one-acre promontory, the modernist abode offers views of the Santa Monica Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and Downtown LA. The exterior is characterized by a dramatic, curved wall that resembles the sail of a ship. According to Architectural Digest, it was made from board-formed concrete to look like natural wood. Altogether, the 20,000-square-foot spread features six bedrooms and a staggering 18 bathrooms. However, in “The Munsters,” the trio was predominantly seen in the living room and out by the pool.
In an aerial shot of the residence, we see Kendall venture up the private driveway which leads to a car gallery. Naturally, the amenities are extravagant as the abode itself. There’s a chef’s kitchen that was custom designed by Nobu, a sprawling 20-person movie theater, an outdoor cinema, and multiple pools. Plus, a jacuzzi is positioned on the roof deck. The pièce de résistance is the primary suite, which can only be accessed via a retinal scanner. Inside, there’s a crazy retractable ceiling that can remain open for stargazing. We wonder which one of the sibs called dibs on that. More
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Who Needs Music? Taylor Swift Has Amassed a Real-Estate Empire Worth More Than $150 Million.
Taylor Swift is in her homeowner era.
The Ticketmaster-crashing pop star owns a number of properties in the United States, to the tune of more than $150 million, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. That’s true even though she’s shaken off a few homes throughout the years, including a Cape Cod mansion and two four-bedroom houses in Beverly Hills.
In 2009, after releasing her first album, Swift paid more than $2 million for a spread at a luxury condo building in Nashville, where she initially moved with her family to pursue a music career. Then, in 2011, she put down $2.5 million for a Greek Revival estate where her mother now lives. Today, those properties are worth about $5 million and $8 million, respectively, local real-estate agents estimate.
Swift later welcomed herself to New York with homes in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. In 2014, she spent almost $20 million on two penthouse units in the Sugar Loaf building, where stars like Orlando Bloom and Steven Soderbergh have lived. In fact, Swift bought the units from the director Peter Jackson, combining them to create an 8,000-square-foot duplex. A few years later, the singer snapped up another $9.75 million apartment in the building, as well as an $18 million townhouse next door. In total, her N.Y.C. digs are now likely worth $45 million.
If that seems like more than enough space for one person, Swift would beg to differ. Out on the West Coast, she owns the Samuel Goldwyn Estate, which she landed for $25 million in 2015. That house sits on two acres of land and features its original 1934 pool house, tennis court, and screening room, among other amenities. Despite being located in Beverly Hills, it’s a home truly fit for Hollywood.
And of course, there’s Swift’s Rhode Island beach house, the home of her Instagram-worthy Fourth of July parties and the inspiration for her song “The Last Great American Dynasty.” Swift acquired the Colonial-style mansion for almost $18 million in 2013, and since then its value has skyrocketed to about $30 million.
So where is Swift likely to set down roots next? Across the pond would be a good guess, given that London is the hometown of her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. A person with knowledge of Swift’s actions told the WSJ that she was recently looking to buy a home in the Hampstead area, although it’s unclear if she completed a deal. Regardless, it seems like the star is building up a real-estate portfolio to rival the size—and value—of her music catalog. More
