Not Jeff Bezos’s $90 million perch on “Billionaire Bunker,” nor Laurene Powell’s lavish $94 million Malibu retreat, but rather a legendary fashion designer’s palatial estate across the Atlantic has quietly clinched the title of 2024’s most expensive celebrity real estate transaction

Image - Instagram / TOM FORD


Billionaire American fashion designer Tom Ford made headlines by splurging a staggering $104 million on what became the priciest home sale in the U.K. this year. The designer, who sold his eponymous label to Estée Lauder for $2.8 billion, has set a real estate record not only in the U.K. but also cemented his status as one of the biggest power players in real estate in 2024.

The Chelsea barracks

Ford’s latest acquisition is a breathtaking, white stucco-fronted mansion in Chelsea, one of London’s most affluent districts, near Hyde Park and the River Thames. The purchase places the creative visionary, worth $2.2 billion, ahead of centibillionaire Jeff Bezos, who spent $90 million on his third parcel of land on Miami’s exclusive Indian Creek Island, and hedge fund titan Ken Griffin, whose $90 million investment secured a beachside estate in the French Riviera. Ford’s purchase also surpasses Laurene Powell Jobs’ individual real estate splurges, including $94 million for a Malibu beach house and $70 million for a Pacific Heights home. While Powell Jobs’ combined real estate investments total $164 million, Ford’s stylish acquisition of the charming Chelsea mansion stands out for its sheer opulence.

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Tom Ford’s Palm Beach mansion

At 63, Ford is no stranger to extraordinary properties. The former creative director of Gucci boasts a global real estate portfolio valued at $300 million, according to The Times. His collection includes a stunning $55 million Romanesque-style estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and the iconic Lasata, a 8,500-square-foot Hamptons mansion formerly owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, purchased for $52 million.

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Tom Ford with Anna Wintour. Image – Instagram / TOM FORD

Why does a world-class designer and filmmaker have such a passion for real estate? The roots may trace back to his Texas upbringing. With both parents working as real estate agents, Ford was exposed to the world of remodeled homes, aesthetics, and spatial creativity long before discovering his true calling in fashion.

Ford’s timing with the Chelsea mansion purchase also proved advantageous, he reportedly saved approximately $2 million in taxes by closing the deal before last week’s budget announcement, according to the Daily Mail.

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