$250,000 a month: Harry and Meghan's LA home costs a fortune in rent, realtor says 'it's outside their range'
Prince Harry and Meghan's current abode, a £14.5 million (almost $18 million) Tuscan-style villa, in the gated community of Beverly Ridge Estates in Beverly Hills reportedly costs $250,000 per month if rented. The villa, with sweeping views of Los Angeles' dramatic skyline, is known for its "ultra exclusivity".
A neighbor of the lavish 22-acre compound where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex currently live, Steve Frankel, while talking to the Daily Mail on Sunday, May 10, said that the enclave's peace and quiet has gone ever since the royals' arrival in the area.
"We’ve had helicopters over the house since 5:30 am. If this goes on for much longer Harry and Meghan may have some angry neighbors," Frankel, an estate agent, told the outlet. "We’re hoping the paparazzi will give up after a few days."
It is not yet clear whether Harry and Meghan are paying rent or they are the guests of the house owner, 50-year-old Hollywood tycoon Tyler Perry, who is reportedly worth over $500 million.
Frankel, who owns a house a stone's throw away from the royals, added that Perry’s house is 24,545 square foot and eight bedrooms.
"I imagine Tyler is letting Meghan and Harry stay there as his guests because I’d think it’s outside their price range. A property like that would fetch $250,000 a month in rent," Frankel said, who is known as the "realtor to the stars."
"There are no homes above or overlooking it," he said of the villa. "There’s a guarded gate to the community and then Tyler’s estate has a gate of its own at the start of the long driveway leading up to his home. It’s so private I didn’t even know that Harry and Meghan had moved in until the helicopters started to arrive."
Perry is reportedly rarely at his home in Los Angeles and prefers living in his native Atlanta, Georgia, where the tycoon owns a movie studio. Perry made his Hollywood fortune creating television shows and movies particularly catering to black audiences. His most popular creation includes a drag figure he plays, known as Madea, a larger-than-life African-American tough, elderly woman. It is believed that Harry and Meghan met Perry through their mutual friend Oprah Winfrey.
Another neighbor of the Sussexes in Beverly Ridge told the outlet: "This place is known for its ultra-exclusivity. People who live here are very rich but very private. This attention is not welcome." The neighbor wanted to remain anonymous.
It was also reported that the Sussexes' new lifestyle could cost them more than $20 million per year, a source working in finance for a Hollywood studio told the outlet. "If you have a house that size, you have to have the servants that come with it. Tyler has a small army of staff including gardeners, maids, maintenance personnel. Then there’s the private chef and nanny. You have to wonder how Meghan and Harry intend to pay for it all?" the source said.