The Biggest Celebrity Real Estate Deal of 2019 Is …

Dec 27, 2019

Photo credit: Getty Images/francois-roux

While Amazon dropped its plans to open a second headquarters in New York City, its founder and CEO Jeff Bezos decided to set up a residence in the Big Apple–and, in the process, scored the largest celebrity real estate deal of the year.

According to a report from Architectural Digest, Bezos’ $80 million purchase of a three-story, five-bedroom penthouse apartment overlooking Madison Square Park and the additional acquisition of the two units below was the most significant real estate transaction involving a celebrity in 2019. In comparison, the second highest ranking on Architectural Digest’s list–the $65.7 million purchase by rock icon Sting of a three-bedroom Manhattan penthouse–seemed like an affordable housing deal.

Other top deals involving the A-list included the sale of Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo of their three-story to their Beverly Hills mansion to Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi for $45 million, Mark Zuckerberg’s $37 million purchase of a Lake Tahoe mansion next to a home he bought in 2018 for $22 million, and NBA star Stephen Curry’s new $31 million three-story mansion in Atherton, Calif.

About the author

Phil Hall

Link copied

Published

Dec 27, 2019

Regulation and Compliance

Mortgage Servicers Added To Junk-Fee Naughty List

New release from CFPB lays out areas of improvement, and concern, for mortgage servicers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today published new supervisory highlights describing the regulator's recent actions to combat junk fees charged by mortgage servicers, as well as other illegal practices. The CFPB has also announced that it is working to addre...

Analysis and Data

Every Dollar A Fraudster Makes, A Financial Firm Loses $4.41

U.S. investment firms and credit lenders see a 9% annual increase in the financial impact of fraud.

Overall fraud increased at least 6% for 63% of financial firms within the past year, with digital channels accounting for half of the overall fraud losses, according to LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud Study: Financial Services and Lending Report — US and Canada Edition. U....