Ellen DeGeneres quits daytime TV, but will she keep busy with property deals?

May 13, 2021
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are prolific property flippers. Photo: Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock Photo

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres might be ending her popular daytime TV show, but her hobby of being a prolific property flipper is sure to keep her occupied.

The Ellen DeGeneres show will wrap up after its upcoming 19th season, she told The Hollywood Reporter, saying she’s ready for a new challenge but will not quit over allegations of a toxic workplace culture.

The host and comedian hopes to take time for a break, before taking on movie roles and working more on environmental conservation.

With a long-running interest in real estate and design — and even her own homewares range — the daytime star might also find more time to buy and sell prestige properties.

Here are just some of her top property deals, alongside Melbourne-born actor wife Portia de Rossi.

Hidden Valley Farm

The couple bought an equestrian estate in California in 2009 for $US8.5 million, a year after they were married at their Beverly Hills home.

They sold the getaway — complete with eight private cottages, an art barn and a yoga pavilion — in 2013 for $US10.85 million.

Hidden Valley Farm. Photo: Supplied

Brody House

News first emerged in January 2014 that the talk show host had snapped up this mid-century modern stunner on Los Angeles’ Westside for almost $US40 million.

It was built for a property developer, with floor-to-ceiling windows, nine bedrooms, a pool and tennis court.

In an eye-watering flip, they sold it only six months later for $US55 million to Napster founder Sean Parker.

Ellen DeGeneres sold Brody House in LA in 2014. Photo: Supplied

Wallace Frost-designed Montecito estate

The couple dropped $US26.5 million on a Tuscan-style villa in Montecito, a glamorous beach town outside LA, in 2013.

Designed by architect Wallace Frost, it features solid stone walls and views of the Pacific Ocean.

They listed it for sale in 2017 with price hopes of $US45 million, before ultimately selling for $US34 million the next year.

The Wallace Frost-designed Montecito home. Photo: Supplied

Carpinteria beach house

Even before selling the Montecito villa, the celebrity couple found their next pad — a beach house farther along the coast at Carpinteria, paying $US18.6 million.

Glass walls offer panoramic ocean views, and the main house comes with a separate bunk house for guests.

They sold it in two years for $US23 million.

The Carpinteria beach house. Photo: MK Properties

Rancho San Leandro

This sprawling equestrian estate in an exclusive gated community in the Montecito Valley was added to the portfolio in 2017 at a cost of $US7.195 million.

In just eight months, they sold it for $US11 million to Tinder founder and chairman Sean Rad.

It shares a boundary with Oprah Winfrey’s homestead and includes a four-horse stable and riding arena.

Ellen DeGeneres sold this Californian ranch to Tinder founder Sean Rad. Photo: Zillow

John Woolf-designed Beverly Hills house

This Hollywood Regency-style mansion came with a price tag of $US15 million in 2018.

Designed by Hollywood architect John Woolf, it overlooks the city and the sea.

Although its owners improved the residence, they did not quite reach their initial asking price of $US17.95 million once it came time to sell.

But it did fetch $US15.5 million within a year of purchase.

Ellen DeGeneres' former Beverly Hills home. Photo: Kurt Rappaport Westside Estate Agency

Salt Hill Estate

This Bali-inspired four-bedder in Montecito cost $US27 million in early 2019, plus the addition of the near-$US1.9 million fixer-upper next door.

The compound — complete with pond and pickleball court — sold for $US33.3 million the next year.

The Montecito compound was bought as two parcels, then combined. Photo: Riskin Partners/Village Properties Realtors

Beverly Hills estate

The power couple bought an ivy-covered Beverly Hills home from Maroon 5’s Adam Levine in 2019 for $US42.5 million.

They sold it last month for $US47 million, the second-highest sale in southern California for the year so far.

Originally built in 1933, the residence above Sunset Boulevard has its own library, chef’s kitchen and a separate guest house.

The property sits just above Sunset Boulevard. Photo: Anthony Barcelo/Los Angeles Time

Tudor house

This unusual residence was originally two barns built in England in the 1700s, before they were transported to Montecito and reconstructed into a private home.

With distinctive Tudor-style beams inside and out, plus a glassed-in orangerie, the home cost $US3.607 million in early 2020.

After a pandemic-era renovation it sold to pop princess Ariana Grande for $US6.75 million mid-way through the year.

The Tudor home in Montecito. Photo: Movoto.com
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