The estate, once known as Villa Vittoriosa, became Ross’s Promise Land.
Rapper Rick Ross bought former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield’s Georgia estate for $5.8 million in 2014. The property, near Fayetteville, had a 45,000-square-foot mansion with 109 rooms, 12 bedrooms and 21 bathrooms, according to Architectural Digest. Ross later expanded the estate by buying another 87 acres for $1 million. I did that for years until one day, I saw the red for-sale sign on the gate and made a U-turn,” Ross told Forbes in a 2021 interview.
He had purchased a nearby house after moving to Georgia and said he used to drive past Holyfield’s home regularly. He said she believed real estate was an important way to protect and grow his money. In the same interview, Ross recalled her advice- “She would just keep buying houses,” he said, adding, “when you buy something, make sure you can touch it. When I get in the tractor, it’s a whole other level of peace and a whole other level of connecting with the estate and the animals and the birds and the wildlife,” he said. Ross said he knew quickly that he wanted the house after seeing it. “This is my house,” he told his agent after seeing the property. “While others was buying Dogecoin and all that, man, I was buying real estate,” Ross said in the video.
The estate, once known as Villa Vittoriosa, became Ross’s Promise Land. The rapper had been familiar with the property for years before he bought it. “I looked at every curve and every up and downhill on the lawn. I was looking at the geese as I rolled by. Ross’s interest in property was also influenced by his mother. “I bought a tractor that is enclosed and has air-conditioning and a radio. He later showed parts of the property in a video tour.
The property had previously belonged to Ross’s friend and NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire, who had owned the single-storey residence for about a decade.
It’s so exclusive, Ross said it’s like the missing piece to the puzzle of his real estate portfolio,” Knausz said. “Star Island is the ultimate goal in Miami.