COURTESY TopTenRealEstateDeals.com
PHOTOS Engel & Völkers
No stranger to real estate investment and development, Academy Award-winning actor Michael Douglas started his property sideline at the age of 21. With the first money he made working on one of his father’s films in 1966, Douglas bought 70 acres of raw land in Vermont, which he still owns.
Unlike many celebrity house flippers, Douglas holds on to his properties for decades. Now, at the age of 74, Michael and his Academy Award-winning wife Catherine Zeta-Jones have been spending time between their homes in New York and Bermuda.
They rarely visit their Mediterranean estate S’Estaca on the Spanish island of Majorca, which Douglas has owned for 30 years.
From 1838 when Chopin spent his winters there, Majorca is the place where celebrities are regularly seen. In Hollywood’s heyday, Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor vacationed at the Formentor hotel, which was also where Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier had their honeymoon. In more recent times, that person who looks so familiar could be Gwyneth Paltrow, Harrison Ford, Noel Gallagher or Sting.
Douglas has hosted many of his Hollywood friends at S’Estaca over the years, which can accommodate up to 20 guests. Completely private and filled with romantic history, the 200 acre estate spans the land between mountains and the sea.
S’Estaca was originally purchased by Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria in 1867. Michael purchased it in 1990, and upgraded the seven separate buildings as well as the grounds by pouring millions into the property.
With a total of 10,764 sq ft of living space, there are 10 bedrooms and an equal number of bathrooms modernised to meet today’s luxury standards. Included are large formal rooms, a library, a gym, a multimedia room and a master suite with a fireplace, terrace and sea views. The exceptional grounds overlook the sea and contain a swimming pool, ancient olive trees, vineyard, terraces and Moorish pavilion.
A large wine cellar contains casks and bottle storage for wines that have been produced on the property. With the estate abutting the port of S’Estaca, there is also a private pier and dock for yachts.
