29 of the Most Expensive Celebrity Homes of All Time

The rich and famous have the luxury of spending their days and nights in homes that look more like castles — and sometimes are — in the most exclusive and coveted neighborhoods in the country and world. They spend millions of dollars to live like royalty in mansions with amenities that might make royalty blush. Here's a look at some of the most expensive celebrity homes in history. For fair comparison, prices on all homes bought, sold, or listed before 2017 have been adjusted for inflation.

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Although $940,000 doesn't seem like much for the famous and wealthy these days (it'll buy you only a little more than half the median-value house in San Francisco), it's impossible to write about celebrity houses without mentioning Graceland. In 1957, a 22-year-old rising star named Elvis Presley bought what is now probably the most famous home in America for $102,500 — the equivalent to that $940,000 today. The mansion, now a National Historic Landmark, sits on 14 acres and boasts five staircases. With the exception of the White House, it is the most-visited home in America.

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One of Michael Jordan's many mansions is in highly exclusive Jupiter Island, Florida. It was the most expensive non-waterfront home in the region's Palm Beaches in 2010, the year of the purchase. There are six bedrooms on the second floor alone, and 11 in total. The real draw, however, is, of course, its location in the highly selective Bears Club, a premier golf community designed by Jack Nicklaus.

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Many celebs move from mansion to mansion without ever making their giant house a home. Not Zsa Zsa Gabor, the eccentric and consummately quotable late movie star who spent four decades in the same Bel-Air estate. In 2012, Gabor and ninth husband Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt accepted an offer on the home. A peculiar arrangement, however, allowed Gabor to remain in the mansion for her entire life. Five years later in 2017, she passed away and the deal finally went through. Just one year later in 2018, the property sold for $20.8 million — nearly twice as much as the 2017 sale price.

When the late King James signed with the Lakers in 2018, he needed a house in L.A. He opted for a $23 million mansion in the chic and wealthy Brentwood neighborhood with eight bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. The ultra-modern mansion boasts features such as marble countertops and natural French oak floors made with wood sourced from Spain. There's also a rooftop terrace, a master bedroom with a private patio, a cigar lounge, and a wine cellar. Although there's a full gym, the home, surprisingly, does not include a basketball court.

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In 2014, Lady Gaga dropped $22.5 million on a mansion in Malibu, California. That's nearly $25 million in 2020 dollars. Unlike so many celebrity mansions in closed communities, Gaga's oceanfront estate is in a fairly normal suburban neighborhood. Visitors — such as Bradley Cooper, who first met the singer there — are greeted by an extra-long driveway, stables, barns, and a horse-riding ring, as well as super-scary guard dogs. The architecture is inspired by traditional homes in the south of France.

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J.Lo is the master of a sprawling, multimillion-dollar real estate portfolio that spans the country and the globe. At the heart of it all is her $28 million French country-style mansion in Bel-Air, designed by famed architect Samuel Marx in 1940. It features a guesthouse, parking for 17, a 30-seat screening room, and a pub.

Mel Gibson's jungle hideaway in Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula is called Playa Barrigona. Situated on more than 400 acres of pristine rainforest, the estate claims more than two miles of stellar beach coastline overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The main home, called Casa Guanacaste, boasts seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms. In 2017, he listed it for $29.8 million, down from an original asking price of $35 million.

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Gwen Stefani bought a sprawling Hollywood Hills mansion known as The Summit in 2006 with then-husband Gavin Rossdale for $13.3 million. Most of its six giant bedrooms open into the mansion's outdoor lounge and recreation area, which includes a tennis court and a pool. Previously owned by Jennifer Lopez, it also features a guesthouse that offers panoramic views of the San Fernando Valley. In 2017, she listed it for $35 million.

Ellen DeGeneres had been asking $49 million for her Beverly Hills estate when Ryan Seacrest agreed to buy it for what the Hollywood Reporter wrote was an estimated $40 million in 2010. Today, that $40 million would be a little more than $47 million. Either way, it's quite a house. The 9,200-square-foot, nine-room modern home — not to mention two posh guesthouses — sits on more than three acres of grounds on a private street in Beverly Hills.

In 2017, Celine Dion sold her property on Florida's exclusive Jupiter Island for $38.5 million. The main house includes 11,000 square feet of living space, 13 bedrooms, and 14 bathrooms, but the main feature is aquatic: For Dion, a pool just would not do for entertaining guests, so the property included a full private water park.

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In 2014, P. Diddy dropped $40 million on a gargantuan mansion in Holmby Hills, California — that's more than $43.6 million in 2020 dollars. The eight-bedroom palace includes a wine cellar, a gym, a 35-seat theater, and a lagoon pool with an underwater tunnel that leads to a luxury grotto. In all, his estate spans 17,000 square feet.

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Also in 2014, another rap and media mogul plunked down $40 million on an equally lavish mansion. In this case, it was Dr. Dre who bought a 20,000-square-foot estate in Los Angeles' tony Brentwood neighborhood. The French-country mansion, once owned by Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen, features a moat and a 10,000-square-foot music studio. Adjusted for inflation, it's worth $43.6 million, just like Diddy's pad.

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When daytime talk queen Ellen DeGeneres bought her Santa Barbara estate in 2013, she spent $26.5 million. When it was time to sell in 2017, she listed it for $45 million. The massive and elegant stone house was designed in the 1930s by famed architect Wallace Frost to resemble a 17th century Italian villa. DeGeneres extended the 10,500-square-foot property by 16.9 acres with the purchase of two adjacent properties.

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Although she didn't get the $60 million she asked originally, Cindy Crawford recently sold her Malibu, California, mansion for $45 million, making it one of the posh neighborhood's most expensive properties. The 5,254-square-foot seaside estate is perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean — stunning views would be an understatement. The sprawling property offers privacy that's rare for A-listers thanks to more than three surrounding acres of rugged natural wilderness.

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Like Cindy Crawford, Demi Moore sold her opulent New York City penthouse for $45 million —  she had originally asked $75 million — 27 years after she and then-husband Bruce Willis bought it in 1990. It's a triplex at San Remo, an exclusive and storied Central Park West co-op that's long been famous for housing famous people. Among those who owned units there are Bono, Diane Keaton, Glenn Close, Steven Spielberg, and Steve Jobs.

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Work began in 2003 on what would become Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith's home in star-studded Calabasas, California, but the property wasn't move-in ready until 2010. That year, the power couple scooped it up for $42 million, which is nearly $50 million in 2020 dollars. The custom-designed, Moroccan-themed home includes a recording studio, a pool room, a meditation lounge, and nine bedrooms.

Jupiter Island, Florida, is one of the wealthiest ZIP codes in America, and Tiger Woods is just one of the many rich and famous people who call the exclusive enclave home. He and his then-wife Elin Nordegren paid $40 million for the home in 2006 — about $51.2 million today — just to tear down the house and dump a bunch of money to redo the 9,000-square-foot home and sprawling property. Naturally, some of that cash went into building a golf practice facility that includes sand traps, fairways, and greens, which Tiger uses to practice his short game.

Radio king Howard Stern bought his home in Palm Beach, Florida, from a textile executive for a cool $52 million in 2017. The five-bedroom estate sits on 3.3 acres next to an exclusive country club. He's not the only media personality with an enviable home in Palm Beach — Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter are Stern's nearby neighbors.

In 2019, Tom Cruise most recently listed his 298-acre Telluride, Colorado, property for $59 million. Built from heavy bleached timbers and featuring floor-to-ceiling glass windows, Cruise designed the log mansion estate himself in 1994. The sprawling property boasts some of the most stunning views in the west and includes a hockey rink, a basketball court, a tennis court, and even some private trails.

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The princely mansion in Hollywood's Hidden Hills that Kim and Kanye call home belonged originally to Elvis' only child, Lisa Marie Presley. They bought the sprawling property in 2014 for $20 million but quickly began sinking tens of millions of dollars into it to make it their own. In 2019, the home — which sits next to those owned by other stars, including fellow members of Clan Kardashian — was appraised at $60 million.

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In the silent film era, it's hard to imagine any power couple was bigger than Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. The Bey and Jay-Z of their time, the couple was known for hosting lavish and exclusive parties whose guest lists included European royalty, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, and Amelia Earhart. Those parties took place at Pickfair (a play on the couples' last names), the 17-bedroom, 30-bathroom mansion that served as the center of Beverly Hills movie star culture. It boasted the largest pool in Beverly Hills, which the couple used to cross in a canoe. Billionaire businessman Corry Hong bought it for about $17 million before listing it — as a fixer-upper, mind you — for $60 million in 2008. That's nearly $72 million today.

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In 2008, the couple then known as Brangelina bought Château Miraval, a castle and vineyard in the south of France, for the equivalent of $67 million, or about $80.2 million today. The main house has 35 rooms, a helipad, indoor and outdoor pools, a video game room, a home theater, and more standard super-rich people mansion stuff. Outside there's a dirt bike course, a chateau garden that includes a 200-year-old olive tree, and, like all good castles, a moat. The vineyard supports Miraval Wines, which produces highly coveted rosé.

One of the world's greatest power couples should have one of the world's greatest homes, an idea that is not lost on Jay-Z and Beyoncé, who plunked down $88 million on a hillside estate in Bel-Air. It's the No. 6 most expensive home ever bought in the history of Los Angeles. Among its juiciest amenities are four pools, a 15-car garage, a full spa and wellness center, and 30,000 feet of living space that's enclosed within six different glass-walled structures. Famously business savvy, the couple took advantage of historically low mortgage rates by putting 40% down and mortgaging the remaining $52.8 million through Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs, just like regular people do.

In 2002, George Clooney bought an estate in Laglio, Italy, called Villa Oleandra from the Heinz family for $10 million. Today, Clooney is reported to be entertaining an offer for $100 million to do something that lakeside villa owners on Lake Como almost never do — sell the place. He is believed to love the town and its people, but feels his presence is ruining their peace thanks to a relentless paparazzi presence.

Famed filmmaker George Lucas began assembling what would become Skywalker Ranch in 1978, the very next year after "Star Wars" came out. He assembled the 4,700-acre property — only 15 acres are developed — parcel by parcel for an estimated $100 million. It's actually not Lucas' primary residence and is used frequently as a Skywalker Sound workplace as well as a collaborative hangout for filmmakers. The estate's parking lots are underground to preserve its natural beauty. Amenities include Lake Ewok, a real working ranch, a world-renowned art collection, and a 300-seat movie theater that is believed to have the most sophisticated sound system in the world.

One of Oprah's homes — there are many, and they're all spectacular — is in Montecito, California. It's not a home, really, but a 42-acre estate she bought for $50 million in 2001. A 2012 tax assessment, however, valued it at up to $90 million. Adjusting for inflation bumps that number into nine-figure territory. Known as the Promised Land, the property is anchored by a 5,000-square-foot mansion and includes horse stables and an equestrian ring, avocado and fruit orchards, and lavishly manicured grounds.

Hugh Hefner bought the Playboy mansion in 1974 for $1 million. More than 40 years and countless debaucherous nights later, in 2016, a billionaire named Daren Metropoulos bought it for a reported $105 million, Playboy Bunnies presumably not included. That's nearly $113 million in 2020 dollars. The famous everybody-who's-somebody-has-been-there estate is a 22,000-square-foot gothic/Tudor mansion with 29 rooms, a tennis court, a year-round fireworks permit, and a zoo license.

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Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, spent $63 million over seven years to build his Medina, Washington, mega-complex. It's called Xanadu 2.0 — that's a "Citizen Kane" reference — and if the couple sold it today, it would go for about $145 million, according to the Orissa Post. It spans 66,000 square feet, and although it has six kitchens and 24 bathrooms, it only contains seven bedrooms. Not surprisingly, it's bursting with tech and it also houses an insane collection of art and artifacts — the Leonardo Da Vinci manuscript alone is worth $31 million.

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In 1862, George Washington Vanderbilt III was born into wealth and privilege that was the closest thing to royalty you'll find in America. His industrialist family made a fortune in the steamboat and rail industries, and George Vanderbilt used his fame, wealth, and social connections to amass one of the world's greatest art collections and private libraries. All that stuff needs a house fit to contain it all. In 1888, he began buying land in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, for what would become the largest private residence in America: the Biltmore estate.

An army of craftsmen labored on the French renaissance château — more than 1,000 people working six days a week for six years. When it was finished, the home occupied four acres; the surrounding property expanded to more than 100,000 acres. With 250 rooms in all, including 35 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms (and 65 fireplaces), it's one of the most historically and architecturally significant structures in the United States. The foundation alone cost $400,000. A private short rail line cost $50,000. In total, the Biltmore cost Vanderbilt $6 million, or about $184.14 million in 2020 dollars. It's no longer a private residence, but Vanderbilt's descendants still own it. You can get married there if you like ... for a price — or you can take a virtual tour of the estate instead.

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