Go Home Shopping with the Rich and Famous

Kimberly Bean
Kimberly Bean
Published on June 19, 2017

Across the country, inventory is low, and buyers in most price ranges are meeting stiff competition for decent homes that are priced right.

But climb the price range, however, and the pace slows down, and buyers can be more relaxed and pickier. Imagine what life must be like when money is no object!

What are the rich and famous looking for in a new home? Let’s find out.

Robert Downey, Jr.

Most of us find buying one home stressful and financially depleting. According to the experts, most of us won’t do it again for another eight years. Not actor Robert Downey, Jr.! He bought not one, but two homes in a single month!

Well, he is Iron Man, after all.

Downey, Jr. is now bicoastal, with a $10.5 million home in East Hampton and a $3.8 million one in Malibu. The former is a “cottage,” while the latter is a mansion.

But considering what real estate in California is going for these days, $3.8 million actually sounds like a bargain, especially since the 3,384 square-foot home sits on a cliff and has amazing water views.

The views, of course, most likely caught his eye, but the retractable glass walls, to better take in said view, must’ve cinched the deal.

Natalie Portman

If actress Natalie Portman didn’t buy her home for the outdoor living space, we can’t figure out what the reason is! The Oscar-winning “Black Swan” actress paid $6.5 million for the home, located in Montecito, Ca. (That’s right, the same Montecito where Ms. Oprah lives.)

Portman, her husband, and two kids have lots of room to spread out – the home sits on more than 10 acres. The architecture is sleek and modern – almost industrial in design – with lots of steel, concrete and glass.

Like Robert Downey, Jr.’s new digs, Portman’s home has dramatic glass doors that open to blend the outdoors with the indoors.

We’ve seen the marketing video for the home and, if we were touring it, it’s the patios and other outdoor features that would’ve lured us to sign the purchase agreement. But, then again, that library . . .

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie paid a cool $24.5 million for prolific filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille’s estate in the hillside LA neighborhood of Los Feliz. She and ex-husband Brad Pitt shared a home in the neighborhood, so it’s not a long-distance move. The 11,000-square-foot mansion sits on a little more than 2 acres and has six bedrooms and 10 bathrooms (imagine having to clean that many toilets every week!).

Built in 1913, the home was designed in the Beaux Arts-style that popular at the time. We can’t begin to guess which of the home’s fabulous features cinched the deal for Ms. Jolie. We rather like the grand foyer, but the multiple gardens on the property may have been a draw.

Come to think of it, ditching the $95,000 she spent in rent every month for a Malibu hideaway may have been all the impetus the former Mrs. Pitt needed.

Michael Phelps

What does a former professional swimmer with 23 Olympic gold medals and a net worth of net worth of $55 million do with his money? He buys a pool, of course — with a house wrapped around it. In this case, the buyer is Baltimore native Michael Phelps, and the home is in Scottsdale, AZ.

Figuring out what Phelps wanted in a home is a no-brainer. Just step outside and check out the almost Grecian-like custom pool, complete with fountains at one end.

Phelps purchased the contemporary home for only $2.5 million last summer. We say “only,” because pick up the 6,010 square-foot home and set it down in one of the country’s celeb enclaves, and it would bring at least twice that much.

We pegged the pool as the draw for Phelps, but he actually loves the view of Camelback Mountain from the backyard and the fruit trees on the property. “You go outside in our backyard,” he said, “and we have orange and tangerine and lemon and lime and peach and apple — all these different fruit trees growing in our backyard.”

David Geffen

Few have made their fortunes in music and movies as well as David Geffen. With a net worth of $7.5 billion, this college dropout has no shortage of funds to splurge on fabulous homes.

The latest addition to Geffen’s trophy-home collection is a $70 million East Hampton estate. Sitting on just over 2 acres, it boasts a tennis court, beach-side swimming pool, pond, and lots of privacy-inspired landscaping.

Details about the home are sparse, but what we do know is that it’s huge and it’s a safe bet it won’t be an Airbnb rental.

What would you want in a home if price didn’t matter?

Hughesville MD Homes for Sale and Real Estate Services in Southern Maryland. You now have a search engine to help you with your Southern Maryland home search! And I’m ready to provide you with a custom home valuation if you’re considering selling your home. Let’s connect to discuss how I can help you. Contact Kimberly Bean at 301-440-1309

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