Additional Coverage:
- Steve Jobs’ widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, just spent $94 million on her fourth Malibu property in 10 years (newsbreak.com)
Laurene Powell Jobs, the billionaire widow of Apple’s founder Steve Jobs, has been making significant investments in Malibu’s real estate, acquiring four oceanfront properties that neighbor each other. Renowned for her expansive investment portfolio, she recently added a $94 million estate in the elite Paradise Cove area of Malibu, as reported by The Los Angeles Times. This upscale neighborhood is known for its wealthy residents, including magnates and celebrities.
Since 2015, Powell Jobs has spent over $170 million on luxury properties within Paradise Cove, aiming to create a vast estate along the prestigious Southern California coastline. This move reflects a broader trend among the ultra-rich, who often buy up adjacent properties to construct private compounds.
Her latest acquisition set the record for the biggest home sale in Southern California in 2024, according to the LA Times. Paradise Cove is a sought-after locale for the rich and famous, with names like WhatsApp’s Jan Koum and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, and even Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who made headlines with their $200 million mansion purchase there last year.
The property Powell Jobs recently purchased spans four acres and includes a 1950s L-shaped house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms, covering an area of 3,399 square feet. Since her initial foray into Paradise Cove real estate in 2015 with a $44 million purchase of a 13,000-square-foot home—which she later had demolished—Powell Jobs has continued to expand her holdings. Her acquisitions include a $16.5 million home in 2017 and a $17.5 million five-bedroom cottage in 2021, as detailed by The Times.
Additionally, a mansion that she is developing in the area was impacted by the Woolsey wildfire in 2018, further underscoring her ongoing commitment to establishing her presence in Malibu, despite challenges.
Inheriting a vast fortune from Steve Jobs in 2011, Powell Jobs’ wealth is not just limited to real estate. She owns a significant stake in Disney, a portfolio of Apple shares, and a 260-foot superyacht.
Forbes estimates her net worth at $14.7 billion. Beyond her investments, Powell Jobs is the founder and president of The Emerson Collective, an organization dedicated to social reform initiatives in areas like education, health care, climate change, and immigration.