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Dr. Dre has come a long way since his childhood growing up in Compton. The music mogul started his 40-plus year career as a DJ and producer, was a founding member of one of rap’s most controversial groups, worked with everyone from Jay-Z to Gwen Stefani, and led the Super Bowl halftime show in 2020. Along the way, he’s managed to build an uber successful solo rap career beginning with his controversial triple-platinum solo debut The Chronic (which celebrated its 30th anniversary this month), start his own label, introduce the world to Snoop Dogg and Eminem, and release Kendrick Lamar’s first major-label album. A prolific career perfecting sound is what led the super producer, together with legendary recording exec Jimmy Iovine, to also create Beats Electronics, makers of the exceptionally successful Beats by Dre headphones. The company was acquired by Apple for $3 billion in 2014, making Dr. Dre the wealthiest annual earner of any entertainer ever evaluated by Forbes at the time.
Dr. Dre is also a shrewd real estate investor with a preference for colossal, luxurious estates in and around Los Angeles. Some of his earliest million-dollar purchases date as far back as 1991. Below is a list of some of his better-known real estate investments.
1999
Dr. Dre (real name: Andre Romelle Young) capped off his twentieth-century real estate purchases with a lavish $2.35 million French Manor–style mansion in Los Angeles. Located in Westchester County Estates—an exclusive gated community in the upscale Woodland Hills neighborhood—the 16,200-square-footer, which is five times larger than the average house in the enclave, is no humble abode. The manse boasts 13 bathrooms, which include those belonging to 8 en suite bedrooms, scattered throughout 3 floors serviced by an elevator. The massive multiroom master suite has french doors that open out to a balcony and room enough for a baby grand piano. It seems likely that Dr. Dre threw more than a couple parties at this house, as there are two kitchens, two dining rooms, a bar in the living room, a 250-bottle wine cellar, a movie theater with surfaces outfitted in all red, and a lounge area with a 150-gallon fish tank and a pool table that opens up to the backyard. Outside is a saltwater swimming pool, an outdoor seating area with a fireplace, and a grand lanai with a full bar, living room, and jacuzzi. Above the lanai is a sprawling patio definitely made for large crowds. Twenty years after purchasing the extravagant digs, the rapper and music producer got $4.5 million for the home, despite an asking price of $5.25 million.
2000
Dr. Dre will rake in a handsome profit if he gets the $20 million asking price for his contemporary-style Malibu beach house, which he paid $4.75 million for 22 years ago. Currently on the market, the nearly 9,000-square-foot oceanfront property sits on Carbon Beach (nicknamed Billionaires’ Beach for its concentration of wealthy homeowners) and has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms spread out amongst three floors. Despite a dated-looking kitchen, listing pictures show an undoubtedly luxurious home with an open floor plan and plush white- and sandy-colored interiors. Glass doors glide open to generous balconies and dramatic views of the Pacific Ocean in both the living area and primary bedroom, which has the added glamor of a boutique-style walk-in closet and sauna. The music producer’s ex-wife Nicole Young lived in the house up until December of 2021 while details of their long and acrimonious divorce were being worked out. The courts eventually handed all the couple’s real estate to Dr. Dre, including this home. An unsuccessful attempt was made to sell the property in 2012 for prices ranging from $11 million to $12.5 million.
2011
The celebrity-packed Bird Streets neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills is where Dr. Dre chose to make a purchase in 2011. In an off-market deal, the “Let Me Ride” rapper acquired the contemporary mansion for $15.4 million dollars. At 9,696 square feet, the sprawling structure set on a high ridge came with six bedrooms and nine bathrooms spread throughout. The luxury pad (in which reports state that the platinum-selling musician never actually lived and used strictly for parties) also had a media room, wine cellar, a guest house, and T-shaped infinity pool. Dr. Dre sold the property for an incredible $32 million in 2015. Although it was reported that the buyer planned to tear down the house in order to build his trophy home, the mansion was still around in 2018.
2012
A year after the Bird Streets purchase, Dr. Dre and his then wife Nicole paid $10.5 million for more than five acres of house-free land in Hidden Hills, intent on developing a luxury estate for themselves some day. Well-known for A-list residents like Kylie Jenner and the rest of the Kardashian clan (Kim and Kanye even considered buying Dre’s land at one point), the vacant property was able to attract $12.5 million when the Youngs sold it to Morphe cosmetics cofounder Chris Tarwill in 2017.
2014
Dr. Dre’s biggest real estate splurge thus far has been his $40 million purchase of Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady’s palatial Brentwood “French château via the Pacific Coast Highway”. Designed by AD 100 architect Richard Landry and interior designer to the stars Joan Behnke, the medieval interpretation is an imposing mega-mansion complete with a pond, a moat filled with koi fish, and a free-form infinity pool shaped to mimic a pond. The six-bedroom castle-like structure makes generous use of patinated limestone, and, despite the weighty look of the old-world-style facade, interiors are airy, light-flooded, and stick to a neutral palette. The environmentally conscious property was purposely built with reclaimed materials, like with its wood beams and marble, and makes use of gray water for hydrating its expansive lawn, mature trees, and terraced gardens. The estate is also powered entirely by photovoltaic solar panels. Reports are that Dr. Dre has made this his main residence. No telling if he kept the chickens and chicken coop Gisele and Tom had in the backyard.
2018
Dr. Dre next picked up a 9,378-square-foot Calabasas mansion for $4.9 million. Built in 1997, the manse sits on a little over three-quarters of a lot, one of the largest properties in the Mountain View Estates gated community in which it is located. Described as a home meant for entertaining, the six-bedroom, seven-bathroom house, at the time of the Grammy Award winner’s purchase, had a double-height foyer and 12- to 13-foot ceilings elsewhere. Another red-clad movie theater, a games room, and a wet bar ensured the fun would never stop. Out back, a pretty expansive grassy lawn with a sinuous pool was lined with trees and boasted a sports court, fire pit, and gorgeous views of the mountain range beyond. At the time of purchase, the domicile was very dated, with its ’90s McMansion facade and faux-finished walls; however, a current listing shows that the Aftermath Entertainment CEO is ready to let go of the property and has put in over $1 million dollars in upgrades. Interiors have moved from beige to white, floors have gone from dark wood to light oak, marble and granite countertops have been modernized, and the screaming red theater is now a soothing ash gray. Even a salon-style bathroom and dressing area have been added. The gorgeous backyard remains mostly the same, with the addition of an outdoor kitchen and stand-alone pizza oven now featured. As beautiful as the home is, Dr. Dre is only likely to make a tiny profit, if any, were he to get the full asking price of $6.1 million.
2019
Dr. Dre acquired this 3,100-square-foot, two-story, Pacific Palisades abode for $2.25 million. Admittedly small in size and with average layout and decor, especially when compared to his other properties, this Mediterranean-style house is the simplest in Dr. Dre’s portfolio. But where this home lacks in size and wow factors, it certainly compensates with spectacular views of the ocean, sunsets, and the Santa Monica Mountains, which can be taken in from a large terrace, a private balcony off the main bedroom, and almost every other room in the house. Purchasing the four-bedroom, four-bathroom home gives the Compton-born owner automatic membership to the neighborhood’s Summit Club, which makes a pool, spa, sports courts, fitness center, and playground available to all residents.
