A look inside the homes of pop star The Weeknd

It’s a Weeknd read!

The Wall Street Journal took a deep dive into the many real estate holdings of pop star The Weeknd — the high-school dropout and son of Ethopian immigrants to Canada who has gone on to win three Grammy awards while buying and selling some of the most expensive properties in California and beyond.

Born Abel Tesfaye in Toronto, The Weeknd made headlines back in August when he paid $70 million for a Bel Air mansion — one of the most expensive deals of the year there — shortly after selling his Holden Hills home to fellow pop star Madonna for $19.3 million.

That nine-bedroom home, which spans 33,000 square feet, sits just off Sunset Boulevard on 1.6 acres and is jam-packed with amenities, including a sports court, a hammam steam bath, both indoor and outdoor pools, a movie theater, a gym, and, conveniently, a music studio.

The mansion was purchased off-market from Dutch media figure Reinout Oerlemans and wife, Danielle, who were not looking to sell it until they were approached by The Weeknd’s brokers, Rayni and Branden Williams of Beverly Hills Estates, according to the report. The couple had purchased the property in 2015 for $21.4 million before taking on a three-year-long renovation that redesigned the interiors and added 13,000 square feet to the property.

The newspaper also delves into the 18th floor, 8,000-square-foot penthouse Tesfaye purchased inside the boutique Los Angeles condominium Beverly West for $21 million in 2019; the penthouse in a star-studded Tribeca condominium at 443 Greenwich Street in Manhattan that he rented back in 2018; and the aforementioned home he sold to the Material Girl.

That Hidden Hills home was purchased by him in 2017 for $18.2 million, according to the report, and featured a seven-bedroom main house with a wine room, fitness studio and theater. The property also has a two-bedroom guesthouse, a basketball court, a pool, spa, barn and cabana.

[Wall Street Journal] — Vince DiMiceli