These A-list estates, which have been ominously abandoned for years, each have a disturbing story to tell, ranging from apparent hauntings and sad sorrow to blatant corruption, long court fights, and a cult takeover. Prepare to be surprised as we discover the shocking stories behind these abandoned celebrity homes, including Mohamed Hadid’s sad mega-mansion, Boris Becker’s squatting property, and Nelly’s magnificent mansion that was left unoccupied for nearly a decade and has recently found a new owner…
Mohamed Hadid’s Doomed Mega-Mansion
Although the huge spread has been in and out of the press for over a decade, you may already be aware of Mohamed Hadid’s doomed mega-mansion. The sprawling mansion was once located on a hillside tract in Bel Air, Los Angeles, and was owned by multimillionaire real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, father of supermodels Gigi and Bella.
Mohamed Hadid’s Doomed Mega-Mansion
Hadid has been embroiled in a legal fight with the city of Los Angeles since building began in 2011. Because of its size and location, the ambitious self-build project has sparked much debate. Hadid reportedly wanted to build a 14,000-square-foot home on the land, but by 2014, the property had expanded greatly in size without the appropriate city of Los Angeles licenses.
The local authorities found Hadid’s new mansion, shown above by Billionaire Drone, spanning 30,000 square feet across size levels. They promptly canceled the developer’s building permits, thus ending any development progress. Notwithstanding this, Hadid is said to have continued, constructing a third story and a pool deck without a permit. The city of Los Angeles decided to take action, and Hadid was sentenced to 200 hours of community service for unauthorized building.
But, in 2018, Hadid’s neighbors, who called the massive mansion “Starship Enterprise,” banded together and filed a lawsuit against him, according to the Los Angeles Times, due to concerns that the hillside property was on the verge of collapsing. Following a protracted legal struggle, the developer lost his case in June 2020, when the California Supreme Court pronounced the property, photographed above by Billionaire Drone, a ‘clear and present danger.’
The property sat unfinished and abandoned for ten years, and after a failed attempt to stop the destruction by declaring bankruptcy, the enormous abandoned mansion hit the real estate market in January 2021, for $8.5 million (£6.8m), a huge loss considering the real estate tycoon had hoped to sell it for $100 million (£80m). The Hilton & Hyland offering, labeled simply as a development opportunity, indicated that the present structure will be dismantled following the close of escrow at no additional expense.
After failing to find a buyer, the price was reduced to $5.5 million (£4.4 million), before being auctioned off for $5 million (£4 million) by Premier Estates Auction Co. According to the LA Times, Sahara Construction acquired the decaying manse in December 2021, and the earnings were intended to support the property’s destruction, but when the winning bid fell short of the listing amount, Sahara agreed to foot the cost.
The Hollywood Fix captured destruction of the mansion, which eventually began in March 2022, and because of the property’s hilltop location overlooking adjacent residences, the property has been painstakingly destroyed. According to the most current Daily Mail reporting, it has now been completely demolished. This would certainly come as a huge relief to neighbors, since Hadid’s architect allegedly worried the structure would’slide down the slope and kill someone’…
Courtney Love’s Country Retreat
The singer, actress, and widow of Nirvana frontal Kurt Cobain listed her rustic three-bedroom, two-bathroom rural getaway in Olympia, Washington, through Virgil Adams Real Estate in 2018 for $320,000 (£256k). According to a Variety article, the seven-acre property had been let to deteriorate and Mother Nature had taken control.
The realtor noted in the listing description that the house was a “big fixer” that needed “a ton of work” to be fit for human occupancy. The real estate agent did not mince words when he said that “everything” needed to be done and that a buyer with substantial funds was required.
While the former rock star’s house was in disrepair, the guest cottage was in the worse condition, having suffered fire damage some time ago. Thankfully, a buyer was discovered and an offer was made in August 2018. Currently off the market, the estate looks to have been sold at long last and is no likely in the midst of a massive renovation.
Steve Jobs’ Demolished California Mansion
In 1984, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs bought the Jackling Mansion in Woodside, California. The Spanish Revival mansion was planned by renowned architect George Washington Smith and constructed in 1925 for copper mining tycoon Daniel Cowan Jackling, thus the name.
Jobs finally won the case, and the home was razed in 2011, but in a tragic twist of destiny, the Apple CEO succumbed of pancreatic cancer eight months later. During its 11-year vacancy, the billionaire’s abandoned house received no care and fell into awful condition. With no one to look after it, nature began to take over the décor.
The 35-room mansion’s former splendor is just about visible in these photographs, despite the paint peeling and the plaster collapsing. The 15,000-square-foot property included open-air balconies, a sports area, marble baths, a grand staircase, and reception rooms with flashy chandeliers.
David Gilmour’s Neglected Stately Home
Hook End, an Elizabethan mansion in Oxford shire, was erected in 1580 for the Bishop of Reading and is currently the UK home of Pink Floyd musician David Gilmour. The 11-bedroom estate has passed through the hands of the rich and famous over the years, from Selfridges owner Sir Charles Calore to Alvin Lee, lead vocalist of the band Ten Years After, who allegedly bought the home in 1972 and established a recording studio in the barn.
David Gilmour purchased the home in 1980, and several of his band’s albums were produced there. Hook End later transferred to record producer Trevor Horn, who turned the home into a luxurious recording location, when he sold it in 1986. Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Rod Stewart, the Manic Street Preachers, Seal, and the Smiths were among the artists that cut singles and LPs there.
The Smiths singer Morrissey claimed to have been visited by the ghost of a monk during his stay at the house, which is steeped in history and legends of spectral visitation. The phantom would emerge in the early morning hours, as if to rouse people to pray.
White put money into the studio, but the home sat empty for years. Trevor Bishenden, alias TrevBish Photography, photographed the estate’s decaying interiors in 2017 when the manor seemed to be abandoned, with increasing humidity and wallpaper peeling off the walls. Thankfully, Hook End has been given a new lease on life and has been completely refurbished.
Liza Minnelli’s Childhood Home
Constructed in 1925 and later rebuilt by famed Hollywood Regency architect John Elgin Woolf, this Spanish Revival estate in Beverly Hills was bought in the mid-1950s by Oscar-winning filmmaker Vincente Minnelli following his divorce from Judy Garland. Liza, the daughter of the previous spouse, spent a lot of her youth in the residence.
Vincente Minnelli had lavishly adorned the celebrity’s boyhood house on Crescent Drive, with multiple chandeliers and luxurious textiles and furniture. When the legendary filmmaker died in 1986 at the age of 83, the mansion was bequeathed to Liza, who is now a major Hollywood actress in her own right, on one condition…
When Liza was given ownership, Mr Minnelli directed that his fourth wife, Lee, be allowed to reside in the property for as long as she wanted. The agreement worked well until Liza decided to sell the house in 2000. Lee was given a condo but declined and refused to go, even after the property was sold in 2002.
Prince Andrew and Fergie’s Sunninghill Park
After their wedding that same year, the Queen pulled out all the stops when she gave her now-disgraced son, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and his bride, Sarah, Duchess of York, a 665-acre block of property on the Sunninghill Park Estate in Berkshire. A swank 12-bedroom home with big reception rooms, stables, and a swimming pool was developed, and building on the showy royal palace began in 1987.
Built in 1990, the property was called ‘Southyork’ and ‘Dallas Palace’ because to its remarkable similarity to the ranch home in the 1980s TV program of the same name. Other commentators likened it to an out-of-town Tesco supermarket, while the ever-diplomatic Duke of Edinburgh reportedly described Sunninghill Park as looking like “a tart’s bedroom”.
Andrew and Fergie’s marriage failed not long after they moved in, and the pair divorced in 1996, but they continued to live under the same roof with their two girls. Upon the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, the Duke relocated to the Royal Lodge in Windsor, her previous home, and Sunninghill Park was placed up for sale. The Duchess and their daughters left in 2006, leaving the property unoccupied.
The Duke, who has subsequently gotten implicated in the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking case, was alleged to have remortgaged Sunninghill Park to fund the expense of restoring the Royal Lodge. He struck gold in 2007 when he sold it to Kazakhstani businessman Kenes Rakishev for $21 million (£16.8 million), $4.3 million (£3.4 million) more than the asking price, in a deal that several questioned. Timur Kulibayev, a rich oligarch, was eventually proven to be the ultimate owner.
Sunninghill Park was in disrepair by 2009, and the site had been mostly abandoned. Planning approval was given in December 2013 to replace the decrepit royal home with a large mansion, but demolition work did not commence until 2015. The eyesore was ultimately reduced to rubble in 2016, and a gleaming new house has taken shape in its place, a long cry from the British royal family’s opulent private mansions.
Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch
Before his demise, Michael Jackson collaborated with Paul McCartney on the 1983 album Say Say Say. As the duo were filming the music video for the single, Jackson stayed at Sycamore Valley Ranch in California, and after seeing McCartney there, Jackson fell in love with the area, pledging to buy it someday. In 1988, he paid an estimated $19.5 million (£15.6 million) for the American estate.
Jackson called the site Neverland after the enchanted island in Peter Pan and began work on his own amusement park. To compliment the six-bedroom Tudor-style home that came with the land, the singer erected two trains and a station, as well as a petting zoo and various amusement attractions.
From a Ferris wheel and a pirate ship ride to a carousel and bumper cars, Neverland has it all. Jackson frequently invited youngsters to stay at the ranch, sometimes without their parents or legal guardians, and threw glitzy events there, including the 1991 wedding of close friends Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky.
Jackson’s actions undoubtedly sparked questions. When charges surfaced and the singer was accused with child molestation in2003, police raided Neverland. Jackson was ultimately exonerated of all accusations, but the disturbing Leaving Neverland documentary from 2019 has thrown the exoneration into doubt. Neverland Ranch was closed in 2006 as a result of the disgraced singer’s fight to maintain ownership of the property while drowning in debt.
After Jackson defaulted on the ranch’s mortgage, investment company Colony Capital purchased a controlling share in Neverland for $22.5 million (£18 million) in 2008. Following Jackson’s death in 2009, the home fell into ruin. Neverland is clearly toxic real estate because the contentious mansion has been up for sale multiple times in recent years but has proven, predictably, hard to sell.
Mike Tyson’s Deserted Lavish Mansion
During a sheriff’s sale in 1989, the former heavyweight champion boxer paid $300,000 (£240k) for this opulent seized house in Southington, Ohio. Ted Vannelli, a local politician who was ultimately imprisoned on corruption charges, created the 25,000-square-foot pad in 1979. These photographs were captured by photographer Johnny Joo and were featured on the Architecture Afterlife website.
The beautiful five-bedroom estate included a huge pool, two big kitchens, three cages for Tyson’s pricey Bengal tigers, vast quantities of marble, crystal chandeliers, and zebra-print carpeting. Nobody knows if the home is cursed or not, but three of its owners have been imprisoned.
Tyson was sentenced to three years in jail in 1992. Following his release in 1995, the troubled boxer returned to reside at the property. Up to his eyeballs in debt due to his spendthrift lifestyle, the ex-con sold the house in 1999 to infomercial mogul Paul Monea for $1.3 million (£1 million), generating a nice profit on the sale.
Monea was implicated in the scandal, much like the previous owners of the property, and was imprisoned in 2007 for money laundering. The estate was once more seized and allowed to deteriorate until it was eventually sold to Ron Hemelgarn, a businessman who owns a health club and an auto racing team, in 2010 at yet another sheriff’s auction.
Many of the furnishings were taken out, but others survived, notably Tyson’s bathtub, which is thought to be worth $2 million (£1.6 million). While Hemelgarn never resided there, he was able to rebuild a portion of the mansion. The Living Word Sanctuary Church received the estate in 2014, and it currently serves as the foundation and primary site of worship for the religious community. We’re sure this pad is hiding a lot of mysteries, just as these abandoned aristocratic mansions…
Nelly’s Lavish Tuscan-Style Mansion
In the early 2000s, Nelly’s enormous songs “Dilema” and “Hot In Here” could be heard on every radio station. The rapper is still estimated to be worth an astounding $40 million (£32m). The celebrity paid over $2 million (£1.6 million) for this opulent property in the Tuscan style back in 2002, at the height of his stardom.
According to rumors, Nelly never really wanted to reside in the mansion. Instead, like some other well-known celebrity house developers, he bought it with the goal to flip it. The 10,799-square-foot house, however, has been vacant for the previous 20 years for an unidentified reason.
It is unknown why the singer of “Ride Wit Me” abandoned his renovation plans, although it is possible that the cost of repairing the house was prohibitive. The residence, which is situated on a prominent 12-acre tract in St. Louis, Missouri, enjoys magnificent views of the surrounding countryside from nearly every room. The inside is overflowing with high-end fittings, such as vaulted ceilings, arched windows, marble flooring, full-height fireplaces, and towering columns, in contrast to the exterior’s grandiose white stucco finish and castle-like towers.
The house was built in 1998 and had a grand entry hall, a double-height lounge, and a Great Room with views of the garden in addition to six bedrooms and seven bathrooms. It stayed unfinished despite being done. In actuality, the home lacks plumbing, and several of the rooms lack flooring. Yet there is definitely room for renovations at the ultimate fixer-upper.
The enormous garden’s exterior has a pool and basketball court that have been abandoned, as well as wooded pathways that descend to the valley of the Meramec River. Nelly ultimately made the decision to sell the house, advertising it in February 2021 for $599,000 (£480k). Naturally, the enormous estate quickly found a buyer after being on the market, but the tale doesn’t end there.
The St. Louis-based Kingdom of God Worldwide Church is reportedly the new owner. According to rumors, the church recently acquired a lot of properties, and there have been some weird sightings nearby. One neighbor estimated that up to 40 individuals were residing in one of the homes, and the FBI apparently stopped over to inquire further about the occupants. Who knows what this unknown buyer may have in store for Nelly’s old residence, given that the neighborhood has speculated that the church may be some sort of cult.