MichaelDouglas

Diandra Douglas in Montecito, Estate of the Day

Filed under: Estates

Today's estate belongs to Diandra Douglas, the former wife of Michael Douglas. The former Mrs. Douglas owns an enviable spread in Montecito, the ultra-pricey enclave that is home to Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and others. The Tuscan villa is on over seven acres which is actually divided into two lots. It is rumored that she got a $45 million settlement in the divorce as well as the home that is our estate of the day.

The Real Estalker says that the home was purchased way back in 1979 by the Douglases for just $275,000. This is way before Montecito became the fashionable area it is today. The 1920s Mediterranean has large iron gates and a motor court leading up to the grand home. The home has been recently updated and has a 75' pool, guesthouse, tennis court, Japanese water garden and green lawns from which to take in the ocean views. Tile floors, dark wood beams, vaulted ceilings and arched French doors all add to the feeling of classic Californian Mediterranean style. The pool/guest house offers another living room and kitchen. The home is listed at $29 million, hugely expensive but par for the course in Montecito.

Gallery: Diandra Douglas in Montecito

Tags: california, california real estate, CaliforniaRealEstate, celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, diandra douglas, DiandraDouglas, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, luxury real estate, LuxuryRealEstate, michael douglas, MichaelDouglas, montecito

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LVMH Chief and Russia's Richest Man Want to Make Montenegro the Next Monaco

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Real Estate Developments

A group of billionaire investors including Oleg Deripaska (Russia's richest man) and LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault are backing a scheme to turn Tivat, a derelict port and ex-Yugoslav naval base in the former communist country of Montenegro, into the next playground for the megarich. The site's former naval dockyard fronting the Adriatic Sea will be converted into a lavish marina for superyachts, officially dubbed Porto Montenegro and biiled as "the Monaco of the Balkans," at a cost of around $350 million, the Times of London reports.

"The yachts are getting bigger and bigger," says Canadian mining magnate Peter Munk, who conceived of the project. "And people are complaining that they can't find proper berths for their boats. That's no problem in Tivat. It used to cater to warships." In addition to the great natural beauty of Montenegro, the development will feature moorings for up to 800 yachts as well as repair yards, hotels, restaurants, shops and possibly a casino. In addition, the Four Seasons is building its first Mediterranean resort there on the site of a former warehouse, slated to open in 2010.

Meanwhile, another oligarch, Luxist mascot Roman Abramovich, is said to be in talks to purchase an eight-mile strip of beach to build his own Montenegrin luxury resort, while Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones and Venus and Serena Williams have recently been spotted house-hunting in the area, the paper reports. This is something of a throwback to the 1950s and 1960s, when stars like Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren and Kirk Douglas holidayed on Montenegro's beautiful red-tiled resort island of Sveti Stefan (above). See the gallery for more.

Gallery: Magnificent Montenegro