Paris Hilton mortgaged the $63 million mansion she bought from Mark Wahlberg. Here’s why it’s actually a smart financial decision

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Paris Hilton mortgaged the  million mansion she bought from Mark Wahlberg. Here’s why it’s actually a smart financial decision

  • Despite Paris Hilton’s high net worth, She and her husband reportedly took out a $43.75 million mortgage for their $63 million Beverly Hills mansion, which is a more common move among super-wealthy people than you might think. Experts say wealthy buyers often keep their cash liquid and use mortgages as a strategic tool to maximize flexibility and invest in high-yield opportunities.

With Paris Hilton’s estimated net worth of $300 million to $400 million, it may seem strange that she reportedly took out a mortgage on her recent home purchase.

Hilton, whose vast fortune comes from 19 product lines, real estate, media and entertainment, brand partnerships, and her reality show, simple life, Earlier this year, actor Mark Wahlberg’s former estate in Beverly Hills was bought for $63 million.

But what wasn’t reported at the time was that Hilton and her entrepreneur husband, Carter Ream, reportedly took out a mortgage on the home, which might seem like an unusual move for the 44-year-old hotel heir. And what’s even more surprising is that they took out a loan after buying the 12-bed, 20-bath home, which features a $43.75 million mortgage with JPMorgan Chase at an interest rate of 5.25%.

But this type of arrangement is not as rare as it seems, real estate experts say.

“It surprises a lot of people, but it’s actually common for the mega-rich to take out a mortgage — even if they can write a check for the full purchase price,” said real estate agent Evan Harlow of Maui Elite Properties. fate.

In fact, public records show that ultra-wealthy celebrities including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg have financed their homes.

“The takeaway for the average buyer is not to replicate their exact vision, but to understand the principle,” Harlow said. “Sometimes the smartest financial move is not paying for everything, but making your money flexible and working for you.”

While this may seem counterintuitive to getting a mortgage in today’s market, where rates are still hovering in the 6% range, it can actually be a savvy move for ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

In fact, just because someone has the net worth to buy a home, “it doesn’t necessarily mean how they want to allocate their cash,” said Miltiadis Kastanis, director of luxury sales for Compass, South Florida. fate.

“Ultrahigh-net-worth individuals think differently about liquidity and leverage; they want to put their money to work in investments, business or even art, rather than tying it all up in one asset,” said Kastanis, who represents high-profile celebrities in real estate transactions.

In other words, according to Harlow, using mortgages helps free up capital for higher-yielding investments or business ventures. He used the example of one of his clients, a successful tech business owner, who recently purchased a $3 million property and decided on a jumbo loan. The client didn’t have to do that, but he wanted to put his cash in the market, where his portfolio, over the long term, was earning an annualized return comparable to the mortgage rate.

“To him, buying a house with cash seemed like ‘parking money in the driveway,’ as opposed to putting it to work,” Harlow said.

Both Harlow and Kastanis also said that ultra-high-net-worth individuals see mortgages differently than other people. People like Hilton see it as a tool rather than a burden.

“For many affluent buyers, a mortgage is another lever they can pull in their overall wealth strategy,” Kastanis said. “They’re playing chess, not checkers.”

A version of this story was published on September 2, 2025 on Fortune.com.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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