George selling Como home?

by party animal - not! Fri 08 Sep 2023, 10:24

From PageSix today

https://pagesix.com/2023/09/07/george-clooney-is-selling-lake-como-villa-for-100-million/

Really!? Or just a slow news day?

by PigPen Fri 08 Sep 2023, 17:40

It's being carried by several outlets. That story has been circulating for years. I laugh at how it's supposed to be a quiet listing, yet it's supposed to be going for 107 million. If he is really selling, I think his real estate person would have a staff that didn't leak such information. Wait and see.

by Ida Fri 08 Sep 2023, 22:30

I'll believe this when I see it. George loves that place. I'm sure the paparazzi and rabid fan intrusions are off the hook over there, though.

by LizzyNY Sat 09 Sep 2023, 01:08

I guess anything's possible, though I wouldn't have thought he'd sell the Lake Como property. Maybe the fact that the twins are getting older is a factor. They might want something less exposed so the kids can have more freedom. Even so, I find it hard to believe he'd sell.

by annemarie Mon 11 Sep 2023, 10:48

I don't believe it, he loves that home. Time will tell.

by party animal - not! Mon 11 Sep 2023, 11:34

Mmm. Interesting that the majority of publications are probably testing the water of what may have been a rumour - and the timing is because he's there! - so their phraseology is quite cautious.

Secondly, is the price a guess? After all quite a few properties there are on the market since the odd Russian oligarch has moved out......

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by LizzyNY Mon 11 Sep 2023, 17:11

If the asking price they're quoting is correct, that's quite an upgrade from the $10 million he supposedly paid for the place. Still, I don't think the money would tempt him as much as family considerations.

Even so, I don't think he's selling.

by party animal - not! Sat 23 Sep 2023, 13:17

Headlines persist, including today

  https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/george-clooney-lake-como-home-sale-b2417143.html

  https://www.quicomo.it/social/george-clooney-lago-lecco-lierna-.html

by Ida Sat 23 Sep 2023, 13:34

I'm sorry to hear the rumors are true, as I know he loved that place. I knew it had something to do with the darned paparazzi intrusions. As much as I love seeing Clooney photos , there's a line the paps shouldn't cross but they continue to do it.

by annemarie Sat 23 Sep 2023, 23:10

[size=54]George Clooney ‘to sell iconic Lake Como villa for €100m’
[/size]

Clooney purchased the sprawling 18th century villa from the Heinz family in 2002

[size]
Maanya Sachdeva
9 hours ago
12Comments

[ltr]

0 of 2 minutes, 12 secondsVolume 0%

[/ltr]

Related video: George Clooney among stars donating 1m to SAG-AFTRA hardship fund[/size]

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter

SIGN UP

[size]
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice
George Clooney has finally decided to sell his Lake Como villa, amid speculation the Hollywood star was becoming increasingly concerned about paparazzi presence in the famed Italian holiday hotspot.
Clooney, 62, bought the 3,000 sq m Villa Oleandra from the Heinz family, makers of the well-known tomato ketchup, for €11.7m in 2002.

He purchased the adjoining Villa Margherita for €8m two years later, and connected the properties by a bridge.

Clooney and his wife, leading human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, have spent many summer holidays with their twins Ella and Alexander, six, at the Lake Como estate.
In recent weeks, it was reported Clooney had listed the sprawling home for €100m, with a source close to the actor telling Page Six Clooney was “conscious of the attention he gets when he’s in town”.
[/size]

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]George and Amal Clooney delight fans with sweet date nights
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]George Clooney says Johnny Depp ‘regrets’ turning down Ocean’s Eleven
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Amal Clooney: Reform law to boost UK prosecutions of genocide and war criminals

[size]
Now, a leading property agent has confirmed the rumours are true in a statement to weekly magazine Oggi, obtained byThe Times.

Yasemin Baysal, a managing partner at Engel & Völkers real estate agency, said she was approached by an agency in Milan to sell Clooney’s home.
She added: “One client in particular is very interested: we have started all of the checks with a view to making an offer.”
The Independent has contacted Clooney’s representatives for comment.
The 18th century villa is located in Laglio, of which Clooney was made an honorary citizen in 2004. It has 25 rooms, a vegetable garden, cinema, gym, tennis and basketball courts, a swimming pool, and grounds spread over 8,500 sq m.
Since acquiring the property, Clooney has hosted several celebrities at Villa Oleandra, including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex Harry and Meghan, Barack and Michelle Obama, Jennifer Aniston, and Matt Damon.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

George Clooney's Lake Como property

(AP)

He added: “I thought maybe I would spend a few weeks vacationing. But then I realised how beautiful life was in Italy and how it really helped calm me and not feel so pressured.”

During a press conference to promote his film The American in 2010, Clooney said buying the home “changed my life in a very pleasant and unexpected way”.
In 2020, Clooney was praised for helping locals affected by severe flooding in Laglio, after three days of torrential rains in the region.
[/size]

[size]

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

What if George Clooney only changed sides of the lake? His new villa could be in the Lecco area
00:00

[/size]

The news of George Clooney 's farewell to Lake Como is bouncing around the world. But for a few hours now the hypothesis has been gaining ground that the American star is not tired of the lake but... of the Como branch. Clooney and family could simply change sides and move to Lierna. It is not the first time that the name of the American star has been linked to that of the evocative municipality of the Como area, but the simultaneous occurrence of some conditions makes the hypothesis more credible than in the past including, as written in recent days, the decision to  leave his home in Laglio, putting Villa Oleandra up for sale. The confirmation of a possible negotiation with a client came directly from a real estate agent from Engel & Volkers, specialized in the sale of luxury properties.
A few weeks ago some international newspapers such as the British magazine  Page Six  had relaunched his desire to move. According to the source cited by the English newspaper, the American star and his wife Amal would not like the great media attention they are subjected to on Lario, now a very popular destination all over the world.
But moving to go where? Numerous hypotheses have been put forward (above all the villa recently purchased in Provence), among which one is gaining more and more space: staying on Lake Como, as it is loved by the Clooney family and close to Milan, but choosing our branch, the Lecco one , definitely calmer. And in particular Lierna, which overlooks the lake and boasts a fascinating history. It is the  Cityrumors website that reports the indiscretion: "A stone's throw from Milan there is the possibility of visiting a magical lake and a splendid castle: this place made George Clooney fall in love".

The first entries in 2019

[size]
The possibility that the famous Hollywood actor could look for a home in our branch had already been discussed in 2019, as evidenced by this article : the rumors, four years ago, led to Villa Aurelia right in Lierna. Would the choice still fall on this residence or another accommodation?
Mayor Silvano Stefanoni, interviewed by us, prefers not to comment on the indiscretion, but confirms an important event. "In 2019 Clooney actually came to visit Villa Aurelia - he explains - For privacy I prefer not to say anything, I can only be happy with the appeal that Lierna is acquiring abroad. In the last two or three years several foreign people have moved to us , some important names and top-level managers. It means that we can boast a balance between nature and overbuilding like few other municipalities."[/size]

by LizzyNY Sun 24 Sep 2023, 18:03

Well, I guess I was wrong. It's too bad that he feels he has to sell because of privacy concerns. I wonder if it isn't also partly due to security concerns as well. Being on the lakefront the property is pretty exposed & he & Amal have a pretty high profile in the human rights realm. Maybe a less open property would suit their needs better.

by party animal - not! Sun 24 Sep 2023, 22:07

George speaks

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

George Clooney Says No, He Is Not Selling His Famous Lake Como Villa: 'It's Not True'

The actor has been an active member of the local community since purchasing the home in 2002 that he now shares with wife Amal and their twins

By
David Chiu

and
Mackenzie Schmidt
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Mackenzie Schmidt
Mackenzie Schmidt is the Home and Travel Editor for PEOPLE. She's worked at PEOPLE for over five years as a writer and editor on the Lifestyle team.
PEOPLE EDITORIAL GUIDELINES

Published on September 23, 2023 01:43PM EDT

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
PHOTO:
GETTY IMAGES; JOSHUA SAMMER/GETTY IMAGES

George Clooney is not selling his Lake Como villa.

“The first I heard of it was when Page Six published the story. Everyone picked it up. It’s not true," the actor, 62, tells PEOPLE via his rep.

A rep for the star also denies to PEOPLE that the house is for sale.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

GETTY IMAGES

The actor — who married lawyer Amal Clooney in 2014 and welcomed their twins Alexander and Ella in June 2017 — reportedly bought Villa Oleandra from the Heinz family in 2002 for approximately $10 million, according to The Washington Post, which reported that the star’s arrival to Lake Como led to a real estate boom, in which asking prices doubled, according to the mayor of Laglio.

George later purchased an adjacent property, making it “one of the largest private homes in the area,” according to The Wall Street Journal . The 25-room villa's value was estimated at more than $100 million in 2022, according to the outlet.

Lake Como is special for the actor on a personal level: it was there in 2013 that he first met his wife Amal, 45, as he revealed in a 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

At the time, Amal joined a group dinner at George's home while passing through Lake Como en route to Cannes, France. “I thought she was beautiful, and I thought she was funny and obviously smart,” he told THR.

In a 2018 episode of David Letterman's Netflix show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, George recalled their first meeting. “I got a call from my agent who said, ‘I met this woman who is coming to your house, who you’re going to marry,'" he said. "It really worked out that way.”

The couple would later marry in 2014 at the Aman Canal Grande resort in Venice.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
George Clooney's home, Villa L'Oleandra, in Laglio, Lake Como, Italy, April 5, 2023.
ANNA-KARIN NILSSON/EXPRESSEN/TT/SHUTTERSTOCK

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Lake Como has naturally been the setting of many a romantic date night for the couple, including, most recently, one at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo in July.

George has previously hosted many celeb friends at the villa over the years.

In 2004, the cast of Ocean’s Twelve, which starred George, visited the villa. Then In 2018, Jennifer Aniston stayed at the property while filming her comedy Murder Mystery. Emily Blunt and John Krasinkski got married there in 2010. Krasinski revealed to Elle in 2016 how George offered up his estate to the couple: "Only on the fourth ask did I say yes. Because the first three times I thought, there's no way he is serious," he shared.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

JACOPO RAULE/GETTY

George played a part in aiding the region when it was hit by heavy rain and landslides during the summer of 2021. At the time, 60 residents were evacuated, per the Evening Standard.

George went on to tour the damage and help residents in the clean-up efforts. He said of the damage: "It's much worse than I thought. I have spoken to the mayor — there will be a lot of work, it will take millions of dollars, but this city is strong. It will react and return better than before. This is a very resilient city."

In an interview with the U.K. Times, local mayor Roberto Pozzi said the actor "came straight to the town hall to see what had happened and we took a tour of the damage.”

Amal Clooney Lovingly Teases Husband George Clooney in DVF Awards Acceptance Speech: ‘He Is a Rising Star’

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP VIA GETTY
The star had also been active in Lake Como’s affairs in 2007 when he called on his neighbors to sign a petition protesting plans for the construction of a parking facility and pontoon bridge, The New York Times reported.

He said at a protest committee meeting: “The building work is only being done because I live here. And unless it stops I’m going to have to move.”

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
RON SACHS/REX USA; INSET: GETTY
In 2019, George teamed up with fundraising organization Omaze for a contest in which a lucky couple could meet the Clooneys at their villa. Donations raised from the campaign benefited the Clooney Foundation for Justice, and the package included lunch with George and Amal, round-trip airfare and 4-star hotel accommodations. In a scripted message, the actor said on behalf of the campaign: “Just picture it: You and Amal, wine in your hand discussing current affairs while her husband quietly serves lunch.”

The Clooneys also have various other properties around the world, including in France, the U.K. and in Los Angeles.

by LizzyNY Mon 25 Sep 2023, 03:39

I'm glad he finally spoke up & settled the matter. I was getting whiplash from trying to figure out if he was selling or not. I'm glad he's keeping the property. He's had such a long connection to it and somehow it suits him.

by Ida Mon 25 Sep 2023, 23:01

I'm glad he finally squashed this rumor, too. I felt really bad for him that the paparazzi won and had chased him away from his beloved Como. I'm delighted to hear it's not true.

by party animal - not! Mon 02 Oct 2023, 08:43

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by LizzyNY Mon 02 Oct 2023, 13:53

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Well, that pretty much puts it to rest. I'm not surprised the NY Post was the source, but I wonder if the estate agent who verified the sale still has a job. Why lie about something so easily disproved? Not the smartest move to make. scratch

by Admin Tue 03 Oct 2023, 17:32

It was this story that got me to come back here this time - I've been reading everywhere that he's selling and I really wanted to chat to you all about it. Sooooo happy that it's not true.

I mean, yes, I guess I could cope with annual summer stories from their home in France instead, but Como is just such an institution for us all, isn't it?

by LizzyNY Tue 03 Oct 2023, 20:16

I was beginning to think you'd abandoned us! Glad to see you back. I love you

I think the Como house has become so connected to George's image it would be hard to imagine him without it.

I'm honestly not sure why they bought the property in France except as an investment. They summer in Como & the rest of the year they're either in the UK or the States. I don't know when they'd have time to spend in France. - Still, rich people's problems - not mine. Very Happy

by Admin Wed 04 Oct 2023, 12:45

I was wondering if they ever go to their home in France. I don't remember reading about it, but I feel bad because I really haven't been keeping up with Clooney news recently, so could have missed it.

When the rumours of selling Como came up, I did think to myself that it would make more sense for Amal, given that she's French-speaking, that she'd like to raise the children somewhere where they could pick up the language natively as well, rather than Italian.

Oh well, we'll see. As you say, rich people's problems.

by annemarie Wed 04 Oct 2023, 17:54

Hi katie ,hope you are doing well, glad your back.
They were at the house in france early this summer it was reported.
I think also they have more privacy than in Italy.

by Way2Old4Dis Sun 08 Oct 2023, 18:01

There is a mini-splurge of actors and other monied types buying properties in France. Pitt and Jolie did it years ago (and are now fighting about it), but for some reason there's renewed interest in the investment. At least, that's what I hear from the periphery of the outside of the edge of the far gates of the inner circles.

by Sponsored content

George selling Como home?