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Despite Paris Hilton’s high net worth, She and her husband reportedly took out a $43.75 million mortgage on their $63 million Beverly Hills mansion, a move more common among the ultra-rich than one might think. Experts say wealthy buyers often maintain cash liquidity and use mortgages as a strategic tool to maximize flexibility and invest in higher-yielding opportunities.
Considering that Paris Hilton is worth an estimated $300 million to $400 million, it may seem odd that she reportedly took out a mortgage when she recently purchased a home.
Hilton’s vast wealth comes from 19 product lines, real estate, media and entertainment, brand partnerships and her reality show, simple life, Earlier this year, the company paid $63 million for actor Mark Wahlberg’s former Beverly Hills mansion.
But what wasn’t reported at the time was that Hilton and her entrepreneur husband Carter Reum reportedly took out a mortgage on the home, which seemed like an unusual move for the 44-year-old hotel heiress. Even stranger, after they purchased the 12-bed, 20-bath home, they reportedly took out a $43.75 million mortgage with JPMorgan Chase at an interest rate of 5.25 percent.
But real estate experts say the arrangement isn’t as rare as it seems.
“This surprises a lot of people, but it’s actually very common for the ultra-rich to take out a mortgage even though they can write a check for the full purchase price,” said Evan Harlow, a real estate agent with Maui Elite Property. wealth.
In fact, public records show that ultra-rich celebrities including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Elon Musk, and even Mark Zuckerberg have financed their own homes.
“For the average buyer, the point is not to imitate their exact methods but to understand the principles,” Harlow said. “Sometimes, the smartest financial move isn’t to pay everything off, but to keep your money flexible and working for you.”
While it may seem counterintuitive to apply for a mortgage in today’s market with interest rates still hovering in the 6% range, it’s actually a smart move for ultra-high net worth individuals.
In fact, just because someone has the equity to purchase a home outright, “that doesn’t mean they want to allocate their cash that way,” said Miltiadis Kastanis, director of luxury sales for Compass in South Florida. wealth.
“Ultra-high-net-worth individuals view liquidity and leverage differently; they would rather put their money toward investments, business or even art than put it all into one property,” said Kastanis, who has represented high-profile celebrities in real estate transactions.
In other words, using a mortgage helps free up money for high-yielding investments or business investments, Harlow said. He gave the example of one of his clients, the owner of a successful technology business, who recently purchased a $3 million property and decided to take out a jumbo loan. The client doesn’t have to do this, but he wants to keep his cash in the market and, in the long run, earn an annualized return on his portfolio that is much higher than the mortgage rate.
“To him, buying a house with cash sounds like ‘just parking the money in the driveway’ instead of putting it to use,” Harlow said.
Harlow and Kastanis also said ultra-high net worth individuals view mortgages differently than others. People like Hilton see it more as a tool than a liability.
“For many wealthy buyers, a mortgage is just another lever they can use to implement an overall wealth strategy,” Kastanis said. “They are playing chess, not checkers.”
A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on September 2, 2025.
This story originally appeared on Fortune.com
