The historic estate across the pond where Rihanna spent her time has sold.
The 6,300-plus-square-foot double-fronted home in London’s tony St John’s Wood Park neighborhood has just been purchased by a Chinese millionaire and his family for $33.4 million, setting a new price record for the nabe and making it the most expensive house to sell in North London this year.
Originally built for a diamond tycoon in 1844, the mansion was constructed by royal architect John Shaw, and is the only one of Shaw’s villas in the area to survive into this century.
Since its noble beginnings, the detached manor has been fully refurbished and modernized.
The Barbadian singer and mother of two, now 35, rented this residence for 2.5 years between 2018 and 2020 ahead of her return to the US shortly before the beginning of COVID-19.
During her time there, Rihanna was known for frequently doing media interviews and filming Instagram stories at the compound, bringing the address such extreme publicity that it is now marked “Rihanna’s home” on Google Earth.
The white stucco property boasts eight bedrooms, multiple reception rooms, both formal and casual dining rooms, a library, a gym and a 21-foot terrace overlooking the sprawling rear garden.
The buyer’s name has not been released, but their nationality is seen as being part of a current housing trend, which comes in response to certain coronavirus-related travel restrictions.
“This sale is indicative of the surge in demand from Chinese buyers for super-prime homes in London,” said Mark Pollack, co-founding director of Aston Chase, which collaborated with Savills on the sale. “As a result of an inability to travel during the pandemic, many wealthy Chinese and Hong Kong residents are prioritizing a ‘Plan B’ in the eventuality of another unforeseen event leading to the Chinese Government restricting movement.”
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