We don’t know anyone who moves more frequently than Ellen DeGeneres. The TV talk show hostess’s property portfolio is so constantly in flux that her business manager and realtors alike must have mansion-laced nightmares about the dozens of transactions she’s initiated over the past few years. (Still, the hefty fees they’ve reaped from her perpetual itchy-footedness should take the sting outta those morning hangovers).
In the past year alone, according to Yolanda’s count, Ms. DeGeneres has bought and/or sold no fewer than seven different homes, each of them worth more than most folks earn in their entire lives. Hardly a week goes by when the lady ain’t makin’ the property columns, and bedraggled journalists can barely keep up with her address changes. So despite her bonafide celebrity status, it’s little wonder that a couple of her recent purchases slipped through the proverbial cracks. Until now, natch.
While surfing through the tony Montecito real estate market, we discovered that Ms. DeGeneres (and her longtime wife, actress Portia de Rossi) very quietly paid $5,900,000 last July (2017) for a historic Montecito estate. She/they gave the place a thorough redo and flipped it back up for sale just four months later. The property would eventually transfer in February (2018) for the full $6.3 million asking price. All this without a peep from anyone in the online property observation columns (including Yolanda)! We’ll chat further about that transaction in a minute or two.
But wait, there’s more. This past August (2018), Ms. DeGeneres stealthily slammed down another $6,700,000 for a ranch property located in the foothills above Carpinteria (CA), the small seaside town located just southeast of Montecito. The sale went down totally off-market, so unfortunately we don’t have any pics to share, but we dug up a few pertinent details about the pastoral estate. Keeping up?
The 10+ acre lot, which sports stunning views of the mountains and ocean, is completely fenced-in for privacy and security. There are two separate structures on the land — one a small remodeled farmhouse, and the other an original-condition two-story barn — both built approximately 100 years ago, circa World War I. Also on the premises are a pool and spa. Most important, however, is the sprawling (fenced) pasture, which was likely the main draw for these gals (Ms. de Rossi is a noted equestrian).
The estate was last owned by a local real estate investor who bought the land for just $3.3 million last year (2017) and doubled his money after flipping it to Ms. DeGeneres. Though wonderfully secluded, it’s less than a 10-minute drive from the $18.6 million Carpinteria oceanfront mansion that Ms. DeGeneres bought last year. Imagine that! How convenient for those times when y’all need a quick weekend getaway, but your favorite private jet is already chartered.
Now, about the Montecito pad that Ms. DeGeneres quietly bought and sold a few months back. Located near the proverbial heart of the village (it’s basically just around the corner from Oprah’s 66-acre Promised Land estate) the petite property is mostly hidden from the road out front by tall hedges and trees. Originally built in 1930, the Spanish/Mediterranean-style confection has just 2,696-square-feet of living space, modest by celebrity standards.
Iron gates swing inwards, allowing luxury vehicles access to the crunchy gravel driveway and two-car garage ’round back. The interiors here were thoroughly renovated by Ms. DeGeneres and include a surprisingly large living room with a vaulted ceiling and imposing stone fireplace.
There’s a breakfast nook with two sets of French doors and an adjacent kitchen with high-end appliances. All three bathrooms include vaulted ceilings, and the home’s 3.5 bathrooms include stone floors and expensive fittings. Fancy toilets and all that, you know.
Accessed through the master bedroom is what the listing refers to as a “sun porch”. From there are some nice views of the lush surrounding flora, if that’s the sort of thing y’all go in for.
Outside, the home’s exquisitely manicured grounds include formal lawns, gardens, neatly clipped hedges, mature trees, and pebble walkways. An outdoor dining area, a lily pond (filled with live koi fish), and a dark-bottomed swimming pool complete the 1-acre lot. Oh, and as for the lucky new owner, she is a lady from Chicago named Donna Lyon. (Our Mrs. Lyon is the widow of financier Robert Lyon, and she additionally owns a Manhattan townhouse, a Florida mansion, and one of Chicago’s most expensive homes. But we digress).
Though this could (and probably will) change at a moment’s notice, Ms. DeGeneres’s current property portfolio includes a $15 million mid-century modern residence in Beverly Hills and the two Carpinteria casas we have already mentioned.
But should we win the upcoming Powerball jackpot, we’d wager mega millions that all three of those homes will be long gone by this time next year. C’mon, you know they will.
Ellen DeGeneres’s agent: Suzanne Perkins, Compass
Listing agent (Carpinteria farm): Jason Siemens, Sotheby’s International Realty
Selling agent (Montecito): Randy Solakian, Coldwell Banker