Annie Leibovitz Lists Her Upper West Side Duplex at a Loss, and Other Celebrity Real Estate News

The more things change, the more they stay the same—particularly when it comes to the owner of George Clooney’s Lake Como villa. According to Clooney, last month’s reports that he’d decided to sell his longtime Italian property were greatly exaggerated. But what about the rumors that Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have purchased a home in Kansas City, or whispers that Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice are being evicted from Frogmore Cottage? Let’s dig in and see what we can find out.

• In early September, the New York Post’s Page Six reported George Clooney was selling his famed Lake Como estate for an alleged $107 million. But in a statement to the same outlet, Clooney said their report was false: "The first I heard of it was when Page Six published the story," the actor said (via his rep). "Everyone picked it up. It’s not true." In an interview with the Associated Press, Clooney further emphasized his lack of plans to vacate the lake, saying in part, "$107 million? They just pick a number and say it." Still, according to the Post, real estate agent Yasemin Baysal told the Italian publication Oggi that, as of last week, an agency in Milan was ready to submit an offer on behalf of a "very interested" client. Is that merely more nonfactual reporting? I’m willing to take a trip to the villa myself to find out. Someone send me, I’m ready!

• While I’m digging into that mystery, someone will need to head over to Kansas City and figure out what’s going on over there with Rihanna and A$AP Rocky. Rumors have been circulating for a few weeks that the couple were looking at homes there, with one TikTok user somewhat dubiously claiming that this is their new Kansas City mansion. (There have also been several dispatches from celebrity gossip Instagram Deuxmoi about Rihanna sightings in Kansas City.) Why Kansas City? Well, A$AP Rocky filmed a video there earlier this year, and I suppose it’s possible the couple fell in love with it then. But according to the Kansas City Star, local realtors have denied showing properties to either Rihanna or A$AP. One agent representing a property rumored to be linked to the couple said, "Nobody is lined up to rent or buy it from us. We’ve had zero discussions like that."

• Something I can tell you for sure is: Gwyneth Paltrow uses one of her Oscars as a doorstop—or at least, she joked about doing so in Vogue’s recent 73 Questions video. The interview with the actress and Goop founder takes place primarily in the gardens of her bucolic Hamptons home. Come for the non-answers to questions like "what was your best role?" (answer: "I was so lucky, I’ve had so many amazing roles") and stay for the stunning views of her lush vegetable and flower gardens, and her pristine pool. (No, she did not let Vogue inside the actual Amagansett, New York, home.)
  

• If Vogue asked 73 Questions to their most famous celebrity photographer, Annie Leibovitz, one of them might be: How do you feel about selling your Central Park West co-op at a loss? (Yes, it would be a rude question.) Leibovitz bought the 3,500-square-foot duplex for nearly $11.3 million in 2014, to be closer to her kids’ schools. Now that they’re all grown up, she’s listing it at $8.6 million. "I live and work downtown," she told the New York Times, referring to her West Village apartment, "and our house upstate is now our family home." (That house is in Rhinebeck, New York.) The (pretty spectacular) prewar co-op offers details like tall ceilings, inlaid oak floors, and original moldings, plus a renovated kitchen and generously sized living room (with a fireplace). A steal for those with $8.9 million to spare. Annie Leibovitz’s loss could be your gain!
  

• Speaking of selling at a loss (sorry to keep bringing it up, Ms. Leibovitz), Russian insurance billionaire Sergey Sarkisov came in a few million short after selling a Beverly Hills fixer-upper to Mindy Kaling. (I’m sure he can handle it, financially speaking.) The 1950s property was put on the market earlier this year for $17 million, but Kaling nabbed it for about $15 million—even less than the $16.2 million Sarkisov paid for it in 2017. The property needs some work, but includes a tennis court, guesthouse, and a pool, spans over an acre of hedged-in, and is right around the corner from Taylor Swift’s L.A. home. Can’t put a price on that kind of proximity to Sophie Turner’s landlord.

• Unlike Sophie Turner, most of us will never experience having Swift as a landlord—but would you settle for King Charles? According to the British tabloids (so take this with the appropriate grain of salt), Frogmore Cottage may soon be up for rent. Some background: the royal estate on the grounds of the Windsor Castle was Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s first residence as a married couple, and they kept it as their base in the U.K. after moving to Montecito, California, in 2020. In 2021, Prince Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, moved in; Princess Beatrice, Eugenie’s sister, also reportedly stays there while she’s in the U.K. Their dad is, unfortunately, Prince Andrew; he’s the one who’s actually supposed to be living in Frogmore (but he isn’t, he’s living in the Royal Lodge against the family’s wishes—we won’t get into it). Earlier this year, King Charles told Meghan and Harry to pack up their belongings and GTFO, and now he’s allegedly doing the same to Eugenie and Beatrice. A source who spoke with OK! said, "The estate doesn’t want to leave the property vacant and are keen to find a tenant." Could that be you? They continued: "Royal residences within the security cordon have been leased to people outside of the family before. Close family friends will be given the option to lease the property if a full-time tenant can’t be found." The OK! article says a one-year lease will cost you roughly $442,490. Good luck with your application.
  

• Now we’ll take you from the British royals to the American ones. Yes, Kourtney Kardashian, the self-declared "Queen of Halloween," has begun to decorate her kingdom for spooky season. The Kardashians star gave followers a glimpse of her decorated home on Instagram, with piles of pumpkins propped up near every doorway, a wall painting featuring a bloody pumpkin and a skeleton, and a dining table set with a black tablecloth, fake cobwebs, skulls, skeleton hands, and fake crows. I wouldn’t say it’s more haunting than the recent viral argument between Kourtney and her sister Kim, during which the former called the latter a "[curse word] witch," but still pretty spooky.

Top photos courtesy (clockwise from top left): Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images; Danny E. Martindale/Getty Images; Robert Smith/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

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