Burning out black businesses? You've got a friend(s) in Hollywood
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You gotta problm with that?
Hollywood celebs are bailing out looters and rioters to the applause of their peers
Bodyguards, gated communities, no pigs here!
Not so long ago, LA’s high-profile elite visibly put down stakes in the flats of Beverly Hills. No longer. Today’s wealthy—Saudi princes and Oscar winners among them—are willing to pay a premium for real privacy. LA’s ritziest gated communities, from Malibu’s Colony to Beverly Park to Hancock Park’s historic Fremont Place, provide a level of security and (paparazzi-free) privacy that public streets no longer offer.
In terms of home size and value, the gated communities linked by the Mulholland corridor are a cut above. Per Mauricio Umansky of The Agency, the pecking order descends from number one Beverly Park, notable for the size of its lots and $20 million-plus megamansions. (Umanskyhas sold 14 of the last 18 homes on the market.) Brentwood Country Estates, home to GiseleBündchen and Tom Brady’s stylish just-built manse, follows; then, it’s on to Beverly Ridge Estates and Mulholland Estates, where Christina Aguilera bought earlier this year for $10 million-plus and Paris Hilton and Charlie Sheen are neighbors. Bel Air Crest is another popular neighborhood, where $9–$10 million is the ballpark figure to move in.
Divided into north and south sections, there are a total of 73 lots in the ultra fancy Beverly Park. In the fall, President Obama [who has his own bodyguards, as do Michelle and the girls] attended not one but two fundraisers in the barricaded enclave: the first at former Laker Magic Johnson and wife Cookie’s 12,169-square-foot mansion.
On the opposite side of town, the Malibu Colony is another long-established, guard-gated enclave that continues to hold and excel in value. “Malibu Colony will increase or remain strong because you have a locked-in community in a prime location, which is gated, private, and secure,” explains Stephen Shapiro, chairman of the Westside Estate Agency.
RELATED: LA Council President who is calling for the gutting of that city’s police department had an LAPD round-the-clock security detail at her house from April until June, ending it only when a television news team called her for comment. asked how many other city council members were enjoying this perk, she said she “didn’t know, but would look into it”. So far, she hasn’t reported back.
