Forbes started off 2023 by looking back at some of the record-breaking real estate sales of 2022, including Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison’s purchase of a 16-acre waterfront compound in Manalapan, Florida for $173 million. And across the globe, luxury property sales flourished in an otherwise mixed year.
In May, an $85 million Florida mansion—next door to Tom Brady and Ivanka Trump—hit the market in Indian Creek island, also known as Miami’s ‘Billionaire Bunker.’ And in Hong Kong, a mansion priced at $281 million joined the ranks of the world’s most expensive homes (in addition to finding a spot of the world’s most expensive cities to live).
In New York, iconic properties that have made cameos in the movies and on television went on the market. The highest penthouse to ever be available on New York’s Upper West Side listed for $40 million—sitting just a floor above Roman Roy’s fictional home on Succession. Across Central Park on the Upper East Side, Miranda Priestly’s townhouse from Devil Wears Prada sold for $26.5 million.
Meanwhile, in the Southwest, a Santa Fe estate once owned by artist Georgia O’Keeffe and later by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, listed for $15 million. And in California, Adele purchased Sylvester Stallone’s Los Angeles compound for $58 million under one condition: That the British singer be allowed keep Stallone’s Rocky statue by the pool.
Here are the luxury real estate stories that Forbes readers homed in on this year.
It’s been a big year for Beyoncé, who made an estimated $100 million from her Renaissance World Tour. She also added a different record to her catalog—purchasing the most expensive home in California’s history with husband Jay-Z. The mansion, designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, spans 30,000 square feet, overlooks the Pacific Ocean, and took more than a decade and a half to finish.
Commercial real estate values might be hurting from high interest rates and work-from-home policies, but America’s richest property barons are even wealthier than they were last year. There are 25 real estate tycoons on the 2023 Forbes 400 list—worth a collective $139 billion. Among the highest-earners are Donald Bren, who controls more than 129 million square feet of property across California, and Leonard Stern—namesake of New York University’s business school—who grew his fortune by an estimated $500 million over the past 12 months.
In November, Jeff Bezos announced his move to Indian Creek, the luxury island community in Miami, that is home to just 84 people—all of them ultra-wealthy. Bezos has purchased two homes on the island: A $68 million mansion and a $79 million one next door. Other notable residents of Miami’s ‘Billionaire Bunker’ include Tom Brady, car dealer mogul Norman Braman, and Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
After buying two new homes in Florida, Bezos now owns nine properties in total. But he’s far from the being the billionaire with most real estate. Forbes found at least five billionaires with 10 or more properties. Larry Ellison, for instance, has 24 homes worth more than $1 billion collectively. Oprah Winfrey and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg also have at least 10 homes. “Those with limited means might purchase a new dress or a new car, but the wealthy can afford to purchase real estate,” says Jeff Greene, a real estate and investment billionaire who owns a mere seven houses.
Tucked in Emirates Hills—known as the Beverly Hills of Dubai—one of the most expensive homes in Dubai listed for $204 million. Called “The Marble Palace,” this opulent mansion spans 70,000 square feet, is built with more than $27 million of Italian marble and hosts an indoor pool room with a 24-karat gold Jacuzzi.
