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The Biggest Celebrity Home Flippers: Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Aniston, Jeremy Renner, And More

This article is more than 9 years old.

When Ellen DeGeneres sold the Brody House--a gem of Los Angeles architecture she'd bought in an off-market deal--to billionaire Sean Parker for a cool $55 $49.5 million a few weeks ago, she turned a $15 million profit in just six short months.

Just a couple months earlier, DeGeneres, who bought the Brody House in January, had told the New York Times that she couldn't imagine a reason she'd ever say goodbye. Well, looks like she found one--at the same time underlining her reputation as Hollywood's reigning flipper. She is among a handful of celebrities who have been buying, renovating, and reselling properties for years.

Thanks to the rising high-end property market in Los Angeles, celebrities with cash and a discerning eye can make big profits flipping. They just need smart design sense, an understanding of the local market, and the luck of good timing, says Mauricio Umansky of the Agency. "One of the advantages celebs have for flipping is brand recognition," he says. "They can get their name out there."

Jennifer Aniston, for example, purchased a Midcentury Beverly Hills mansion in 2006 for $13.5 million and, with the help of architect and designer Stephen Shadley, overhauled the place. She got it published in Architectural Digest, listed it on the open market for $42 million in March 2011, and sold that June, to Pimco billionaire Bill Gross for a reported $35 million. (Even with the unknown rehab costs, that looks like a pretty good deal for the actress.) The key to Aniston's success, says Jane Gavens, of Coldwell Banker Previews International, who often works with stars: “Timing, getting in on the Midcentury craze, celebrity cachet, and, frankly, doing it right.” The actress seems to be looking for a repeat, quietly shopping for buyers willing to pay $40 million for another home re-do, says Mark David of the RealEstalker celeb real estate blog )now housed at Variety).

Actor Jeremy Renner may not match the high price points of DeGeneres or Aniston, but he's got more flips under his belt. Back in 2002 when he was still a struggling actor, he and partner Kristoffer Winters bought their first house, a Midcentury Modern in Nichols Canyon, Esquire magazine reports. They invested $659,000 and sold the home for $900,000 in just a few months. The duo has since bought and sold more than 16 homes, and Winters now has a full-time design firm. Their latest flip: an over-the-top Art Deco mansion in Holmby Hills that they bought in 2007 for $7 million. They renovated it and sold to British property developer Nick Candy last August for a reported $24 million.

Actress Diane Keaton specializes in historic renovations. Her most recent project, a Spanish Colonial Revival in Beverly Hills that she bought for $8.1 million in 2007, sold to “Glee” actor Ryan Murphy for $10 million three years later. A self-professed design addict, Keaton has authored a book on Spanish and Mission style architecture, “California Romantica,” and a coffee table book called "House," as well as designed a dishware line for Bed, Bath & Beyond. She renovated the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Alfred Newman Estate in Pacific Palisades, selling it for a reported $10.75 million in 2010. (The purchase price was $9.1 million in 2007, according to the Los Angeles Times, so unclear if she made a profit after the renovations.)

Though DeGeneres selects top-notch homes from a design perspective, not all are as financially lucrative as the home she sold to Parker. In 2012, DeGeneres sold a Beverly Hills spread she'd cobbled together over several years to television host Ryan Seacrest. He paid $37 million--less than the $48 million DeGeneres had shelled out to acquire the parcels, according to the well-sourced RealEstalker. And that's not even counting the money she spent on renovations.

Among DeGeneres' other flips: a 26-acre ranch in Thousand Oaks, Calif., a Hal Levitt-designed home in the Trousdale Estates neighborhood of Beverly Hills, and a Malibu waterfront home that she bought from Brad Pitt for a reported $12 million in 2011 and sold for $13 million one year later. All told, DeGeneres has flipped some half dozen properties.

One of Hollywood's most prolific flippers is actor Brad Blumenthal, who played Jerry Lewis in Pulp Fiction, and has flipped 16 homes in that many years, according to the Los Angeles Times. Blumenthal's latest: a Sunset Strip estate listed for $28.8 million. The home, an investment with a partner, Leo Hauser, is currently in escrow.

A few stars sell quickly enough to resemble flippers, though perhaps without the intent. In Miami, baseball star Alex Rodriguez bought waterfront parcels in Miami for $7.4 million in 2010, poured $24 million into building an 18,000-square-foot dream home, and then sold it (at a loss) for $30 million in 2013. More recently, the baseball star sold a condo on the on the outskirts of Biscayne Bay for a reported $2.575 million (purchase price: $2.1 million) after owning it for about a year. Rosie O'Donnell is trying to sell the Manhattan penthouse she bought in September 2012 for $8.095 million. First listed at $10.95 million last year, the apartment's price tag has since dropped by $1 million.

Other Hollywood flippers include agent-turned-designer-to-the-stars Sandy Gallin, who has renovated and sold many homes over the years. Former 90210 star Jennie Garth may be getting into the game with an HGTV show, The Jennie Garth Project, about her Hollywood Hills renovation. Even actress Meryl Streep and producer and musical artist Akon are trying their hand. Streep is asking $6.75 million for a Hollywood Hills home she bought for just $4.5 million last February. Meanwhile, Akon purchased a San Fernando Valley, Calif., home in September for $1.95 million, redid it, and put on the market this month for $3.5 million unfurnished ($4 million furnished, including a recording studio). We’ll see if the Atlanta resident has the Hollywood flipping knack.

Check out our list of Hollywood's Best Flippers