Laurene Powell Jobs, the billionaire entrepreneur and widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, appears to be on a shopping spree in Washington.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that she plans to buy a 20-percent stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the holding company that owns the Washington Wizards and Capitals. The news comes just a couple months after her organization the Emerson Collective bought the majority stake in The Atlantic from David Bradley. But there remains at least one thing Jobs doesn’t own in the District: a home.
Worth an estimated $20 billion, Jobs is one of the wealthiest people in the world. So it’s no surprise that she’s amassed an impressive collection of real estate. Since Steve Jobs’ death in 2011, she’s bought a $44 million Malibu estate and a $15.3 million horse ranch in Palm Beach County, Florida. Those properties are in addition to the Palo Alto house she shared with her late husband, and a compound on more than nine acres in Silicon Valley’s Woodside. A place in the District would round out her portfolio quite nicely, no?
If Jobs is thinking about house-hunting, we’ve got some suggestions for her.
Kalorama
The neighborhood of the moment is an obvious place to start. It’s not far from the restaurants and amenities of trendier areas like Logan Circle. Plus, Jobs would already know some of the neighbors—she sat in Michelle Obama’s box at the 2012 State of the Union. Fellow tech billionaire/media owner Jeff Bezos also has a place there. TTR Sotheby’s agent Jim Bell says his tech clients are particularly attracted to the neighborhood—he found a house there for Megan Smith, a former Google vice president who was chief technology officer in the Obama administration.
Massachusetts Avenue Heights
Jobs may already be familiar with this part of the city, since it’s not far from Bradley’s Embassy Row mansion. Hillary Clinton would be another familiar face around this nabe, and Jobs is a big fan of hers. The area’s housing stock skews even grander than Kalorama’s, and the lots are even larger, making it a good choice for high-profile residents who prioritize privacy. Its traditional aesthetic seems to fit with Jobs’ other real-estate purchases.
The Wharf
It’s true that Jobs does not seem like the condo type, but we know she’s definitely the yacht type (though the Post also reports that she’s broken up with former DC Mayor Adrian Fenty). If she’s looking for something lower maintenance—like a simple, $3 million pied de terre with a river view—a penthouse at the luxury building VIO on the Southwest waterfront might do the trick. It’s steps from the Capital Yacht Club, so whatever she saves on gardening and housekeeping she can spend on membership dues and a big new boat.
Marisa M. Kashino joined Washingtonian in 2009 and was a senior editor until 2022.
