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| English: Reese Witherspoon at the premiere for Water for Elephants in May 2011 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
#5 Mark Wahlberg's Beverly Hills Mansion
Size: 11,500 square feet, including seven bedrooms and 10 bathrooms
Asking Price: $12.995 million
List date: July 18, 2012
Current Status: Still for sale
The Scoop: Wahlberg bought the home in 2001 for "only" $4.95 million and made some multi-million upgrades to the place, which now features a kitchen with commercial grade Viking-appliances and marble countertops, a media room with a fireplace, a two-bedroom, 2,500-square-foot guest house, and a resort-style pool area with cabanas and a waterfall. The estate includes a two-story gym complete with a regulation boxing ring and an outdoor basketball court that can also be used for tennis or racquetball. Though potential buyers should note that the deed to the house does not come with a guarantee you'll end up with Wahlberg's abs.
#4 Sheryl Crow’s Hollywood Hills Estate
Size: 11-acre estate with a 4-bedroom, 3.5 bath main house, a 3-bedroom, 3-bedroom guest house, and a 2-bedroom, 2-bath bungalow
Asking Price: $15.95 million
List Date: October 1, 2012
Current Status: Still for sale
The Scoop: The Spanish Revival home was built in 1924 and has been remodeled to include lots of modern-day amenities like a kitchen chock full of high-end appliances, a library with built-in bookshelves, a wine cellar, and plenty of outdoor luxuries, too, including some close-to-nature spots where Crow must have penned a few tunes. There's the infinity pool with attached hot tub and deck, a footbridge over the property, a cactus garden, and a tropical-style palapa complete with hammock for gazing out into the L.A. skyline, and an outdoor fireplace. As for the guest houses, which share the 11-acre lot, the 1909 Craftsman contains three bedrooms and three bathrooms, while the 1885 "cottage" has two bedrooms and features white oak floors and the always-cool-sounding claw foot tub. According to Zillow.com, the "Perfect Lie" singer and her kids have already completed their move to Tennessee.
#3 Madonna’s Manhattan Apartment
Size: 6,000 square feet, 6-bedroom, 8-bathroom duplex
Asking Price: $23.5 million
List Date: November 20, 2012
Current Status: Still for sale
The Scoop: Though Madge purchased a single unit back in the mid 1980s, over the years she's bought two more neighboring apartments in the building, combining them into what is now a 6-bedroom, 8-bathroom duplex, which takes up the 5th and 6th floors of West 64th Street's prestigious Harperley Hall. A peek at the listing shows the apartment offers luxuries most Manhattanites have to forgo, like great rooms on both floors with French doors leading to outdoor "Juliet" balconies, five wood-burning fireplaces, central air conditioning (not always a given in NYC apartments), bedrooms with their own wings, and yes, those priceless park views. The apartment was featured in a 1991 issue of Architectural Digest, and according to the article, it included a sound-proofed private gym so that neighbors couldn't hear the stereo system. Unfortunately, the plan didn’t quite work. According to the New York Post, the 54-year-old was sued in 2009 by an upstairs neighbor, who claimed that Madonna played her tunes so loudly that the walls shook for up to three hours a day. The building's board reportedly threatened to evict the "Vogue" songstress and she settled the lawsuit in 2011. After that she moved out of the building and into an even bigger apartment across town on the Upper East Side, this one a 12,000-square-foot 13-bedroom, 14-bathroom triple-wide townhouse with nine fireplaces (because five just isn't enough), for which she paid a reported $40 million.
#2 Adrienne Maloof and Paul Nassif’s French Chateau in the Gated Los Angeles Enclave of Beverly Glen
Size: 20,000 square feet including eight bedrooms and 11 baths
Asking Price: $26 million
List Date: September 20, 2012
Current Status: Sold on October 19 for $19.5 million
The Scoop: After entering into a messy divorce, “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Maloof and her plastic surgeon husband Nassif looked to liquefy one of their biggest assets when they put this mega-mansion on the market. And what a mansion it is. The listing agency's website states that the French Chateau-style house, designed by architect Richard Landry, is set on two acres and includes luxurious features like a tennis court, media room, wine cellar, swimming pool, and both a pool house and a guest house. According to Zillow.com, the couple purchased the home (which was built in 2000 and has been featured prominently in the reality show) for just under $13 million in 2004, which means they made a tidy little profit on the sale … more to pay the lawyers with!
[Related: Which Celeb Split of 2012 Surprised You the Most? Vote Now!]
#1 Ryan Seacrest’s Beverly Hills Mansion, Purchased From Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi
Size: 2.87 acres, 15,000 square feet, 9 bedroom, 11 baths
List Price: $45 million
List Date: October 3, 2011
Purchase Price: $37 million
Purchase Date: May 16, 2012
The Scoop: Was the home with a celebrity pedigree worth every penny? Well, the property includes a main house, two guest cottages, and an additional 3-bedroom house. DeGeneres and de Rossi purchased the furnished property from “Will & Grace” co-creator Max Mutcnick and later bought two neighboring properties and expanded the home with the help of interior designer Melinda Ritz. The house includes a media room (where the couple was married), a giant pool, meditation room, and pond. Best of all, it was also was once home to Joan Collins.
Honorable Mention: Reese Witherspoon’s Ojai Ranch
Size: 7 acres, 4 bedroom, 3-bath main house, three guest cottages, and carriage house
Asking Price: $10 million
List date: October 15, 2012
Current Status: Price dropped to $8.9 million on November 15. Still for sale
The Scoop: Though there were bigger and more expensive celeb homes that hit the market in 2012, Witherspoon’s Ojai property, makes the list since it’s made plenty of headlines over the last year or so. It was the site of Witherspoon's star-studded wedding and was featured in Elle Decor's August 2012 issue. Over the summer it also became a temporary retreat for her friend and "Like Water for Elephants" co-star Robert Pattinson during the media frenzy that ensued after his girlfriend Kristen Stewart admitted to cheating on him. Acclaimed architect Neff designed the ranch's main house, which has four bedrooms and three and a half baths, in 1923 for glassware magnate Edward Drummond Libbey. In addition to the main house, the estate, which sits on nearly seven acres, also includes a swimming pool, barn, and horse paddock as well as multiple guest cottages, which contain an additional five bedrooms. Witherspoon and her family also share the ranch with donkeys, pigs, goats, chickens, and four dogs. No word on whether they come with the house or not.
http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/aline/biggest-celeb-real-estate-listings-2012-005047489.html
