Rosie O’Donnell, comedian and producer, in 2024.
Ten months after it was listed for an even higher price of $54 million, Rosie O’Donnell’s former Miami home sold for an incredible $36 million to the billionaire inventor of Rockstar Energy Drink.
Energy drink tycoon Russell Weiner was able to negotiate a 33% reduction in the asking price for the house, which was listed by Liz Hogan of Compass, but he still had to pay a significant amount to buy it.
The vast waterfront house, which was impressively renovated by its most recent owners, is situated on an acre and offers 11,000 square feet of living space along with a wide range of opulent facilities.
The historic home was the only one for sale on Star Island, where disgraced musician Sean “Diddy” Combs notoriously owns two homes, when it was posted. This made it even more enticing to purchasers looking for a piece of paradise within the upscale community.
Miami’s affluent community of Star Island.
Built in 1923, the house was bought by O’Donnell, 62, for $6.75 million in 1999, seven years after she became well-known for her role as Doris Murphy in the popular 1992 film “A League of Their Own.”
But just four years later, the actress, who is also well-known for her roles in films like “The Flintstones” and “Harriet the Spy,” decided to put the house back on the market. She sold it to Dr. David Frankel and his wife, Linda Frankel, for $16.5 million in 2003, making about $10 million for herself.
The Wall Street Journal claims that during the many years they lived there, David and Linda, a former editor of Vogue, “substantially renovated” the house.
However, their son, Greg Frankel, decided to list the property after David passed away in March 2024, months after his wife’s death.
Greg had moved into the house while his own property in Coconut Grove was being renovated, and he had been living there with his own family for eighteen months when it was listed.
But Greg, a lawyer and former music executive, told the WSJ that after spending so much time renovating his own house with his family, he finally decided to offer the house.
He told the publication that he was aware that a buyer might decide to demolish the property to make room for a more contemporary residence.
He did point out, though, that once his parents moved in, they made a number of improvements to the house, including taking down the mounted hammerhead shark that O’Donnell had put on display over the stairway. They swapped it out for a work of modern art.
The property has also undergone more substantial renovations, such as a new kitchen, an enlarged foyer, and renovated landscaping—a project Greg said was very meaningful to his mother, a botany aficionado who enjoyed tending to the property’s little mango grove.
There are two smaller guesthouses and a private boathouse on the grounds, but the main house, which has eight bedrooms and is decorated in the Mediterranean style, is the property’s jewel.
The 40,000-pound boat lift and private dock will have surely enticed water lovers, while the massive swimming pool with its water slide will have tempted any parent.
“A generational opportunity to purchase on Miami Beach’s most coveted guard-gated Star Island,” said the advertisement. This carefully designed private property, which spans more than an acre of lush vegetation, has more than 200 feet of prime shoreline with stunning views of the harbor and skyline.
“There are a lot of leisure rooms after you enter the double-height lobby. Take advantage of this unique chance to acquire a legacy estate on this secluded island haven.
A fascinating past beyond its previous celebrity owner was also revealed by the house.
Numerous reports state that it was formerly owned by the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church, an apparently religious group whose members caused intense controversy among their fellow Star Island residents by smoking large amounts of marijuana on the property and surrounding it, causing “clouds” of smoke to drift around the house.
Naturally, there is also the appeal of the home’s upscale neighborhood, which has long been regarded as one of the most upscale areas in the Miami region—and the United States.
Over the years, a number of celebrities have owned properties there, albeit not all of them have drawn favorable attention.
Additional information from Realtor.com: My parents and I purchased a $200K home, and it turned out to be the best choice I’ve ever made.
As part of a sex trafficking probe involving the rapper, Homeland Security investigators raided Star Island in March 2024 and carried out a comprehensive raid on Diddy’s compound. He was arrested in September 2024 as a result of the search.
In a failed $50 million bail plea that same month, Diddy gave up his $48 million Star Island estate as collateral. However, a judge denied Diddy’s request for freedom, agreeing with prosecutors that the rapper poses too big of a risk to be released on bail.
Although the rapper was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, he was eventually found not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking offenses. He is presently incarcerated pending his punishment.
The rapper purchased the two houses that make up his island home decades apart.
The first, a home with nine bedrooms and twelve bathrooms, he bought for $14.5 million in 2003. In 2021, he paid $35 million for the second house, which is adjacent to his old Miami estate. It features 8.5 bathrooms and six bedrooms.
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His second property, which consists of two buildings on a 1.34-acre land, was once held by Gloria and Emilio Estefan.
Over the years, several well-known individuals have resided on Star Island, including pharma millionaire Phillip Frost, “Real Housewives of Miami” star Lisa Hochstein, and Jennifer Lopez.
The sale follows O’Donnell’s admission in a January TikTok video that she had left the United States and was applying to become an Irish citizen.
The move was made with her 12-year-old daughter, Dakota “Clay” O’Donnell, who has long been a vocal opponent of Trump. She explained that she waited until they were “settled” in their new house before “telling everybody what’s been going on.”
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The comedian continued by explaining that because she had Irish grandparents, she is eligible to apply for citizenship in her new country of choice. She acknowledged, nevertheless, that she never imagined leaving the United States, where she had most recently resided in Los Angeles.
O’Donnell said that while she has enjoyed seeing all of Ireland’s amazing features, she has frequently found herself missing portions of the United States, particularly her four other children: Parker, 29, Chelsea, 27, Blake, 25, and Vivienne, 22.
“I’m glad, you know. Clay is content. [However] I miss my other children. My pals are missed. I’m trying to find a home here in this lovely country since I miss a lot of things about living back home,” she said.
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O’Donnell added that once Trump leaves power and the nation is “safe” once more, she might think about going back to the United States. She merely discussed what is “happening politically” in the nation, without mentioning the president by name.
“And when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back,” she continued. “Watching what’s going on politically and personally has been heartbreaking.” We all know that the personal is political,” she remarked.
