Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Drove Another Neighbor Away - What Did They Do?
Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved to Montecito, California, their millionaire neighbors seem to be leaving one by one. Peter Sperling, their millionaire neighbor recently sold his $19 million property, making him the next high-profile resident to leave.
Is this the fault of the ex-royal couple?
Documents show that in April 2018, Peter Sperling, the 400th richest person in the United States and son of University of Phoenix founder John Sperling, sold his seven-bedroom, 13-bathroom home near where Prince Harry and Kate Middleton live in Southern California's exclusive Riviera Country Club neighborhood.
In February, the rich heir also sold another property a few blocks away for $16.3 million.
In September of last year, actor Rob Lowe also sold his house in the neighborhood where Meghan and Harry now live.
Located on 5.56 acres, the house is just away from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's estate.
In an apparent desperation, Sperling slashed the price of his Garden Lane mansion by $7.65 million, only steps from from Harry and Meghan's new residence.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Ellen DeGeneres, and close friend Oprah Winfrey also call the area home. It remains to be seen if they'll be the nexts to leave as well.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's move to this area, according to Rob Lowe of Montecito, California, have certainly transformed the neighborhood.
In an interview with E! News' "Daily Pop" show, the 57-year-old actor said that while Markle and Harry "keep a low profile," they have increased the degree of attention" to the exclusive neighborhood.
"They definitely have brought a lot of attention to my sleepy little town," Lowe said, adding that he had lived in Montecito for 26 years.
"Let me tell you something: Once the royals move into your neighborhood, the neighborhood is never going to be the same," he said, adding that the couple lived "over the fence" from his first home in the area.
When Kym Whitley and Justin Sylvester, the show's hosts, questioned if Lowe was annoyed by the changes brought about by high-profile inhabitants, Lowe replied, "When Oprah moved in, that began the sort of resurgence of Montecito. And now that the royals are there [...] the good news is property values go up, the bad news is the lines are longer at Starbucks."
Oprah Winfrey sat down with Markle and Harry in March and asked if they had stayed at Tyler Perry's Beverly Hills residence before they bought their house in August and moved to Montecito, and they admitted they did.
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