She’s now six years into her quest to build a truly epic compound atop Malibu’s Paradise Cove, but Laurene Powell Jobs is still expanding her territory. The journey began in March 2015, when the billionaire philanthropist and widow of Steve Jobs paid $44 million for a Paradise Cove mansion that has since been demolished. In 2017, she doled out another $16.5 million for the house next door, and records reveal Jobs has now paid an additional $17.5 million for a small oceanfront house that also sits directly adjacent to her estate.
All that means Jobs has now spent nearly $80 million for her of Malibu land alone, not counting the untold millions more she’s spent on construction costs — and the job is still nowhere near complete. But with her widely reported $19 billion net worth, the $80 million splurge represents little more to her than buying a $20 t-shirt would represent to the average person. And as for the exorbitant construction costs, it appears there are two new t-shirts in the Jobs household.
Though it’s never been owned by a celebrity, Jobs’ new Malibu acquisition has a unique, only in Hollywood sort of history. In the 1970s and early ’80s, the cottage was frequently rented out to Hollywood film crews and used as a film location for some of TV’s most iconic shows, including “The Rockford Files” which filmed two episodes on the premises, and six episodes of “Charlie’s Angels,” starring Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith.
The house was also used as a setting in four 1991 episodes of “Dallas,” and has additionally appeared in everything from “T.J. Hooker,” to “The Waltons,” and from “Mod Squad” to “The Twilight Zone.” Built in 1956, the two-story structure packs in 5 bedrooms and 3 baths into just under 2,700 square feet of living space.
Despite its prolific stardom, there are very few photos and details of the property available online. In 1999, it was sold for $1.75 million to Hong Kong-born Sammy Chao, a restaurateur and owner of several nightclubs, including L.A.’s landmark Mayan. It was Chao who sold the place to Jobs, increasing his money tenfold in the process, and the house was never officially on the market.
Perhaps the home’s most unique feature is its location. Because the house is set right on the sand on prime Paradise Cove, the driveway sits directly off the end of the public Paradise Cove parking lot — so the property itself can only be accessed by driving through the hordes of unwashed beachgoers struggling to park their cars in the oft-overflowing lot, surely a less-than-ideal setup for many wealthy potential buyers.
For Jobs, of course, the home’s driveway is of no concern. In addition to the $100 million Malibu complex, she has homes all over the country, including at least three estates in California’s Silicon Valley, a horse ranch in pricey Wellington, Florida, and a $16.5 million mansion in San Francisco.
Jobs is also the founder of Emerson Collective, the privately-owned company that supports social entrepreneur and education-oriented firms, and also owns The Atlantic news organization. In recent years, the 59-year-old has also emerged as a major political donor to left-wing causes and candidates. Jobs sits on the board of Stanford University, and she’s a founding member of the Climate Leadership Council nonprofit.
