Underneath it all, celebrities may be just like the rest of us. But that doesn’t mean that behind it all–privet hedges, wrought-iron gates and watchful doormen–they live like your average American. Sure, they tend to cluster with people of like minds and incomes, just like everyone else. But that means the Malibu bluffs, Aspen slopes, Hamptons beaches and Miami waterfront. And like the rest of us, celebrities consider their homes sanctuaries. But getting a little peace and quiet can be difficult when magazines are willing to pay thousands of dollars for a shot of you shopping in your sweats or picking up the kids’ toys on the lawn.
They have a range of tastes–some like edgy modern mansions, others glass-walled penthouses or vintage estates. But unlike many of us, they can afford to indulge those desires.
Hip-hop mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs has a glitzy spread in Alpine, N.J., as well as a three-bedroom Manhattan condo with views of Central Park.
P. Diddy has a major mansion in Alpine, N.J., but every hip-hop mogul needs an urban home. In 2004, he paid about $5 million for his three-bedroom spread in the Park Imperial in midtown Manhattan. The apartment has exposures on three sides, including a view of Central Park, and his neighbors include music man Tommy Mottola and holistic healer and author Deepak Chopra.

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