Celebrity Real EstatePeek Inside The Weeknd’s Lavish HomesAbel Tesfaye—better known by his stage name—has laid his head in some seriously stylish digs

By Joyce Chen

March 3, 2022

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The Weeknd’s real name is Abel Tesfaye.Photo: Emma McIntyre/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

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The Weeknd’s transformation from YouTube star to Grammy award-winning hitmaker has been a rapid one. About a decade after he burst on the scene, he has five studio albums, countless awards, and a Super Bowl halftime performance under his belt. Likewise, The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) has gone from living in a bachelor pad rental in Toronto to borrowing Caverhill house in Beverly Hills to smash up the chandeliers and set the walk-in closets on fire for the music video for his 2016 hit “Starboy”, to now owning a $70 million Bel Air mansion.

Below, we look at the singer’s life in real estate.

2017

Go big or go home, right? The Weeknd did both with his first home purchase in the spring of 2017, dropping just under $20 million on a massive three-acre estate in Hidden Hills, California. The modern farmhouse-style mansion measured 12,000 square feet, with a 1,200-square-foot guest house, a saltwater pool, and an eight-stall barn. The seven-bedroom pad featured numerous outdoor patio spaces and fire pits, an indoor-outdoor bar, a full basketball court, a home theater, and even a music lounge. The Weeknd held onto the property for a few years before flipping it back onto the market, where it was ultimately picked up by none other than Madonna, who paid $19.3 million for the place in 2021.

One of The Weeknd’s first high-profile romances was with pop princess Selena Gomez, and after dating for a few months, the pair reportedly moved into a Greenwich Village rental together. Entertainment Tonight reported at the time that similar units in the building were being rented for $16,000 a month. Though details of the couple’s actual apartment are scant, a source told ET that the building’s units featured 11.6-foot high ceilings, English-style kitchens, and glass Juliet balconies.

2018

The courtyard at the swanky Tribeca building where The Weeknd and former flame Bella Hadid once rented an apartment. 

Photo: David Sundberg/Esto / Courtesy of CetraRuddy

By the following year, The Weeknd had gotten back together with his on-again, off-again girlfriend Bella Hadid, and the pair reportedly rented a 5,004-square-foot penthouse in a celeb-favorite building, in Tribeca. (Other residents included Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel, Meg Ryan, and Rebel Wilson.) The couple’s unit featured four bedrooms, as well as four full bathrooms and one half bathroom, with an open layout living room with double-height ceilings, an entertainer’s kitchen with Calcutta marble countertops and custom wood cabinetry, and a massive private outdoor space. The building boasts amenities like a Turkish bath, a high-end gym, and a wine room. The unit had an asking price of $60,000 a month around the time the pair lived there.

2019

The Uncut Gems star expanded his West Coast holdings in late 2019 with the purchase of a $21 million penthouse occupying the entire 18th floor of the Beverly West. Known as the “Mogul,” the unit measured 8,215 square feet, with wide-plank oak floors, dark navy decor, walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, and private elevator access. The singer ultimately stayed for just over two years, putting the unit back on the market for $22.5 million in early 2022.

2021

Ahead of his Super Bowl halftime performance, The Weeknd rented out a massive $9.1 million Tampa Bay home in the Davis Islands neighborhood. The mansion measured 6,000 square feet and featured its own private dock, a pool, and an unobstructed view of the bay. Page Six reported that the singer put down $100,000 to book the spot, which is in the same area where Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was renting out Derek Jeter’s mansion at the time.

Later that year, The Weeknd dropped $70 million for a Bel Air mansion, a 33,000-square-foot behemoth set on 1.6 acres overlooking the Bel Air Country Club. The property features amenities like a gym, a movie theater, a music studio, a sauna, an indoor pool, an outdoor infinity pool with a waterfall, and a sports court. Wildly, the former owners of the home—Dutch media mogul Reinout Oerlemans and his wife, competitive cyclist Danielle Oerlemans—weren’t even looking to sell when the singer’s realtors reached out to express his interest. Clearly, when it comes to real estate, The Weeknd knows what he wants.

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