Inside LeBron James’s Houses: A Peek Into His Sizeable Real Estate Portfolio
Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
LeBron James’s houses are as admirable as his athletic talents on the court. As far as celebrity homes go, his properties are exemplary, which comes as no surprise given his $1.2 billion net worth. Not that James’s expenditures are purely selfish. The basketball superstar, who famously hails from Akron, Ohio, has invested quite a bit in his home state since he’s risen the ranks in the NBA. In fact, though he’s relocated several times while playing for different teams, he’s always found a way to give back. “Akron, Ohio, is my home. I will always be here,” James said at the opening of his I Promise School in 2018. “I'm still working out at my old high school.”
Though the NBA star currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, in May 2024 rumors of his return to the Cleveland began trending when he and his wife, interior designer Savannah James, sat courtside at a playoff game between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. During his career, James has also made his mark in other major cities throughout the US, amassing an impressive real estate portfolio that includes homes in Los Angeles and Miami, where he played for the Miami Heat for four seasons. Take a peek into his properties below.
Akron starter home
James wasted no time building his real estate portfolio shortly after the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him as the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. He reportedly paid $2.1 million for a Bath Township property just northwest of Akron and built a 30,000-square-foot mansion on the land in subsequent years, spending millions to make the house a home. He was just 18 at the time. Presently, the property features six bedrooms, eight full and six half bathrooms, as well as a recording studio, a movie theater, an aquarium, a barbershop, a two-lane bowling alley, and a sports bar. The primary suite even features a two-story walk-in closet. James still owns the compound, and it’s now reportedly worth around $9.2 million.
Contemporary Miami mansion
James sent shock waves through the sports world when he opted to leave the Cavaliers in 2010 to sign on with the Miami Heat as a free agent. He secured his living situation there shortly afterward, paying $9 million for a custom-built, three-story mansion in Coconut Grove, Florida, that November. The new home was prime for entertaining and featured an eight-seat home theater, a wine cellar, a backyard pool area with a multicolored LED lighting system, and a private waterside balcony off the primary suite. There was also a separate guest house situated atop a three-car garage and a dock that could accommodate two 60-foot boats. James listed the 12,178-square-foot mansion for $17 million in 2014 and it sold for $13.4 million the following year.
First Brentwood pad
The early 2010s marked a season of change for James. The all-star athlete married his childhood sweetheart in 2013 and returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014. By the time James reunited with the Cavs, he was ready to expand his real estate reach to the west coast. He snapped up a 9,440-square-foot white brick and stone colonial mansion for $21 million in 2015—his first of three LA-area abodes. The Brentwood place featured six bedrooms and eight bathrooms, with a double-height foyer, a wood-paneled office, a Calacatta marble kitchen, and a home gym. In the back yard, there was an infinity-edge swimming pool that spanned nearly the width of the house, a handful of patios, and a basketball court next to a three-car garage. James listed the home for $20.5 million in early 2021 and ultimately sold it for a slight loss at $19.6 million that September.
Brentwood residence
James added to his Brentwood holdings with the purchase of a $23.5 million spec mansion in late 2017, just ahead of his decision to move on to play with the LA Lakers the following year. The luxurious pad boasts eight bedrooms and eleven bathrooms, with high-end amenities like a wine cellar, theater, cigar room with air-purifying technology, and an onyx bar. Appropriately, the athlete also has a top-of-the-line gym for staying in shape during the off-season. Built with an indoor-outdoor flow, the gym is directly linked to a spa with a steam room, shower, sauna, and massage room. Outdoors, covered patios feature marble floors, and a rooftop terrace reachable via elevator access offers stunning views. James currently considers this his primary residence.
Beverly Hills compound
In 2020, just months into the pandemic, the Lakers star made headlines when he picked up a sprawling, 13,000-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion for $36.8 million. The celeb-pedigreed pad previously belonged to Hugh Hefner and Katherine Hepburn, though James reportedly bought it from soap opera legend Lee Phillip Bell, who co-created The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless. The Mediterranean-style compound, situated on a 2.5-acre plot and originally built in 1930, boasts a screening room, a lighted tennis court, and a pool house with two bathrooms. (Fun fact: The residence also boasts one of the largest driveway gates in all of Los Angeles, per multiple reports.) Renovations over the years have given the four-bedroom main house entire walls of glass sliders for optimal indoor-outdoor flow, as well as numerous skylights and indoor fountains. In June 2023, however, James decided that it would make more sense to raze the entire existing structure in order to build his dream home rather than continue to renovate the property bit by bit. While it’s unclear what sort of mansion the athlete will build in its place, there’s a good chance that it will be something with a more contemporary feel rather than the original structure’s old-world vibes.
House Three Thirty
In December 2020, James’s LeBron James Family Foundation purchased the nightclub and event space formerly known as Tangier in Akron, Ohio, with aims to create a community space and special event venue for families of James’s I Promise School and the greater community. Now known as House Three Thirty, the space opened in March 2023 and includes restaurants, meeting spaces, a performance venue, a center for financial advice, and even a LeBron James museum. “A lot of our research when we started was sitting and, honestly, talking to LeBron and [his mom] Gloria [and asking], ‘What would have helped you growing up in Akron?’ So that has extended to our families and what they would want to see,” Michele Campbell, executive director of James’s foundation, told a local station at the venue’s opening in March 2022.
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
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