Dubai is a city which always amazes with its abundant display of luxury and wealth, and it creates this feeling of “always bigger, brighter, better”. The most popular emirate is famous not only for its amazing construction projects and unique buildings, but also with the large number of celebrities who actually bought luxurious homes in the city.
Many Hollywood, fashion and sports stars have signed with Dubai property developers for various marketing campaigns and they have been given villas or luxury apartments in the city as a payment. Others designed or invested in different construction projects. Some of them are David and Victoria Beckham, Boris Becker, Tiger Woods, Donald Trump, Giorgio Armani, Michael Schumacher, Jamie Oliver, Hilary Swank. In fact, the list of celebrity names is probably going to get longer with famous and rich people buying Dubai homes just because it’s prestigious and just because they can afford it. After his gig in May, Justin Bieber for instance was rumored to be looking to purchase a property in the emirate. It is highly unlikely that he is ever going to come and stay in Dubai, but there are some Celebs who enjoy their Dubai homes and enjoy living in them.
One of the most popular couples in the world, Victoria and David Beckham own a luxury seven-bedroom waterfront villa on the Palm Island. According to some, the family received the property as part of a marketing campaign by the developers. And the villa was then worth $1.6 million. Although they are not actually living there, the villa’s price on the market is constantly rising just because it’s Beckham’s, so it’s at least one really good investment for the family.
Another famous family, the favourites of Bollywood fans, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan recently bought a property in the Sanctuary Falls area of Dubai. They are now closely monitoring the work on the interior decoration and have been repeatedly seen flying in and out of the emirate. They also have a luxury bungalow in Emirates Hills which they received as a gift by the property developer.
Indian actor Shan Rukh Khan was investigated two years ago in relation to his lavish holiday signature villa on The Palm Jumeirah. He stated the property was gift but the tax department checked if it was in fact payment for Shah Rukh Khan’s endorsement of the Palm. Either way, the exclusive villa is spread over two levels and an area of 8500 square feet and has six bedrooms , two garages, and of course, a private beach.
The younger brother of another Bollywood superstar, Salman Khan, the director and producer Sohail Khan also bought a property in Dubai, located in the Middle Eastern alternative to New York’s Manhattan, Business Bay. His apartment is in the 21-storey residential tower Burj Pacific, which by 2015 when it is going to be completed, will comprise of 150 apartments and penthouses.
Former Formula 1 champion, Michael Schumacher, was also given a slice of Antarctica in the popular The World construction off the coast of Jumeirah. The $7 million private island is part of the cluster of man-made islands the World which resemble a map of the world, viewed from above.
