Billionaire Oprah Winfrey has been busy on the real estate front. Hot on the heels of buying more than 800 acres of land in Maui, she has sold one of her California properties for $14.3 million.
Bye, Bye Montecito Ranch
Among the many residences the media titan owned was a ranch in Montecito, California. She has just sold the property, which is not her main residence, to a film director.
According to Siteline Santa Barbara, the ranch sell was an off-market transaction for about $14.3 million. Film producer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber (“Red Notice,” “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,” “We’re the Millers”) reportedly purchased the property.
Because the transfer was conducted off-market, there are few public details about or photos of the property. What is known is that Winfrey acquired the property in 2005 for $7 million, according to tax records, Dirt reported. It does not seem she has ever lived on the 5.6-acre ranch.
The land features a small ranch house, which is just over 3,000 square feet. The house has four bedrooms and four baths. On the land, there is also a swimming pool and even a full-size tennis court, and, of course, a vast ranch area.
The neighborhood includes other Hollywood notables like TV host Ellen DeGeneres, singer Ariana Grande and TV star Larry David.
Property Shedding
As Finurah previously reported, in 2022, Winfrey flipped a 4,320-square-foot property in Montecito for an impressive profit.
She acquired the property for $10.5 million in 2021. She then divided the property up and sold the halves to two different buyers, fitness guru Bob Greene and actress Jennifer Aniston.
Greene acquired his piece of the property for $2.3 million in August. A week later, Winfrey sold the main house to the “Friends” actress for a whopping $14.8 million.
Her primary residence is a 70-acre ranch on Montecity nicknamed “Promised Land” ranch. Winfrey still owns several homes, including several others in the Montecito area. She also has property in Colorado, Tennessee, Washington state and Hawaii.
Maiu Property
Earlier this month, Winfrey reportedly bought 870 acres in Maui for $6.6 million. It was for four large parcels of Hawaiian land. Winfrey has lived part-time in Maui for 15 years.
The four parcels total 870 acres in Kula, Maui, reported Maui Now. Two were sold by Ulupalakua Ranch; one 520-acre plot for $3.89 million and another 330 acres for $2.47 million, Architectural Digest reported. Last year, Winfrey purchased an additional two 10-acre swaths of land, each for $100,000.
Winfrey, whose net worth reportedly is $2.6 billion, already owned over 100 acres of Maui land and her latest purchase bring her Maui land holdings to roughly 1,000 acres.
This massive land buy sparked mixed reaction from local Hawaiians. Some were concerned that the purchase would contribute to the displacement of native Hawaiians. Native Hawaiians now make up just 10 percent of the state’s population, according to the U.S Census Bureau.
