Wealth generates more wealth. This is very clear to Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of visionary Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who is once again attracting attention not only for her clout in the field of philanthropy and investing, but also for a monumental acquisition: a century-old mansion in the prestigious Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Franciscofor an astonishing $70 million. 1,600 square meters of luxury.
San Francisco boasts of being one of the places in the world with the most expensive real estate prices in the world. It’s easy to find homes for $15 or $20 million. But The record for this neighborhood was $43.5 millionalso in Pacific Heights. And this acquisition has an additional advantage: it offers a panoramic view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The homes of Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison and iPhone/iPad designer Jonathan Ive are also nearby. And they’re not that luxurious.
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The highest bid, that of Laurene Powell Jobs
What an architectural metaphor for the power and evolution of the Silicon Valley elite. The house that Powell Jobs just bought has been taken off the market, comes from the hands of Sloan Lindemann Barrett, daughter of tycoon George Lindemannand her husband Roger Barrett, CEO of Shaklee, a health supplement company.
Described as a Spanish Renaissance-style palace “surrounded by a two-story courtyard topped by an expansive glass roof,” as cited by Architectural Digest, its renovation didn’t come cheap either. Architect Peter Marino says it was a “titanic task” that took more than three years.
But beyond the numbers, the story of this mansion designed by the famous architect Willis Pol and renovated by Peter Marino stands out – in the same way as the Ginza Tower or the emblematic Louis Vuitton store on Rodeo Drive, California -, with which it intertwines with the very history of the American elite. It’s not just a house, it’s a status symbol. A space where influences ranging from the Spreckels, with their sugar empire and their iconic toys like the Frisbeeto contemporary technological titans.
At 60 years old and at the head of the Emerson Collective, Powell Jobs is now positioned as one of the most powerful widows in the United States. And he does it from a neighborhood he shares with Larry Ellison, the second richest man on the planet.
An unprecedented real estate career
Powell Jobs’ real estate move is not an anomaly. Already in June 2024, he purchased a ranch-style house in Malibu for $94 million, bringing his total investment in this area to $174 million – he owns four lots totaling several miles in total. As the joke goes: “who builds the future? Well, maybe those who buy the gift“.
And in addition to this enormous expense, Powell Jobs is investing in a project of another caliber: California Forever. This initiative, with almost dystopian connotations, seeks to develop an $800 million urban utopia on farmland in Solano. It’s not just a dream of financial power, it’s a cultural gamble that seems almost straight out of “The Curse.” In any case, Powell, who evolves in this mixture between pragmatic realism and almost philosophical inclination for the causes that he considers essential, invests in what he believes.
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