This is not surprising, given that the American fashion designer is a veteran of the real estate game, having been buying and selling homes in the US and Europe for decades. Lauded for his charming and provocative style, the Texas-born tastemaker has been described before Vogue magazine Regarded as “meticulous and methodical” and “among the smartest businessmen in the history of fashion,” he has certainly proven those words true when it comes to real estate. An architecture major in college, Ford’s inside knowledge of design history shows in his real estate purchasing patterns, as his homes tend to have some degree of historical or architectural significance. And despite giving us the occasional small peek into his homes over the decades, we’ve seen enough to know that the elegant, sexy sophistication echoed in his clothing also informs his decorating sensibilities. “My houses are for me, Richard (his late husband) and Angus (the fox terrier),” Ford said. In the magazine In 2004 (before their son came along). “All my homes look the same. I have a very specific set of tastes.
Ford also said, “I’ll probably be building, buying and selling houses for the rest of my life,” so don’t expect him to stop playing with authentic architecture any time soon. As a secret engine when it comes to real estate, many Ford transactions fly under the radar until someone does some deep digging into public records. Below is a list of some of the properties we know he has owned over the years.
1990s
In 1997, while Ford was at Gucci, the designer purchased a white Victorian mansion in London’s Chelsea neighborhood. The four-storey house is located in the Boltons Conservation Area, a quiet and posh area of the town where celebrities such as Hugh Grant, David Bowie and George Michael have had homes. The facade of the 3,602-square-foot mansion was perfectly preserved, but the inside was as elegant and sexy as you’d think a Tom Ford interior would be. Several rooms were painted black. There was black furniture, a study room paneled in Macassar ebony, and even a bedroom paneled in stainless steel. Ford’s design skills were so impressive that subsequent owners chose to keep most of his decor intact, as evidenced by the inclusion of photos from 2020. “He is without a doubt the best designer in the world, and he brought this level of luxury to this home. “No expense has been spared…it’s a trophy property,” the 2020 home’s selling agent told Mansion Global. Ford first listed the home in 2009 but was unable to secure a buyer until 2012 when it sold for an undisclosed sum.
Across the pond in Los Angeles around the same time, Ford purchased the iconic Richard Neutra-designed modernist jewel Brown Sydney for just over $2 million. Because Neutra was one of the most prominent architects of the Modernist era, the 1955 building featured features such as clean lines, an open floor plan, and walls of glass to facilitate indoor and outdoor living. The hilltop home also features 180-degree views, a pool, and rugged landscaping, all of which were part of Neutra’s design ethos. When Ford purchased the house, he enlisted architect John Bertram of the AD 100 firm of Marmol Radziner & Associates (a partnership he has since maintained in many subsequent real estate projects) to complete the restoration. There aren’t many photos of the house publicly available, but the few that do appear on Marmol Radziner’s website show dark colors and an aesthetic that stays true to the mid-century design philosophy (quite frankly). Ford made a huge sum when he sold the property in 2019 for $20 million to a hedge fund trader, who later sold it to Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi in 2022 for $29 million.