Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi follow biggest sale ever with pair of luxe buys

Couple sold Dennis Miller’s former Montecito estate for $55M, top $100M in deals for year

Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres closed three deals in September (Getty)
Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres closed three deals in September (Getty)

Prolific property investors Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi had a busy September.

The couple closed three deals last month, including their priciest ever, according to Dirt.

They sold a sprawling, five-acre estate in Montecito for $55 million in an off-market deal to a yet-unknown buyer.

The property includes five structures, including a 9,000-square-foot mansion built in a South African Dutch colonial style. There is also a guesthouse, garage, pool house, and a barn designed by architect Tom Kundig.

DeGeneres and de Rossi bought the estate from comedian Dennis Miller last year for $49 million.

The deal is the largest ever for the couple, and the second-priciest transaction ever closed in Santa Barbara County, behind Riley Bechtel’s $63 million purchase in Montecito last year.

The couple wasn’t just selling last month. They also bought a property next door to their recently reacquired Rancho San Leandro property in Montecito and a smaller home within the City of Santa Barbara.

They paid $14 million for a property across the street from their Rancho San Leandro, a ranch that dates back to the 1850s and now sits in a gated community.

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The property was not on the market. It’s home to a Mediterranean-style home custom built by its now-former owner.

The smaller Montecito deal was for a 1,400-square-foot home with two bedrooms. They paid $3 million.

The couple only recently purchased Rancho San Leandro back from Tinder co-founder Sean Rad. They had sold the property to Rad in 2018 for $11 million. They purchased it back from him in May for $14.3 million.

They also recently bought a well-preserved Midcentury Modern home in Beverly Hills Post Office of Los Angeles for $8.5 million from talent agent Greg Cavic.

Between the sale of Miller’s former estate and the recent sale of a mansion in Beverly Hills, they’ve closed more than $100 million in sales this year, clearing about $10 million in profit before factoring in any renovation costs, maintenance, and other expenses.

In the spring, they listed a 90210 mansion once owned by Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine for $53.5 million and found a buyer in April at $47 million.

[Dirt] ­— Dennis Lynch