Tennis icon John McEnroe and musician Patty Smyth are putting one of their Malibu residences on the market. The couple is asking $35 million for their oceanfront property in the highly coveted Paradise Cove community, more than 10 years after purchasing it for $21 million in 2015.
A sale would not mark the end of their Malibu chapter. McEnroe and Smyth also own a smaller nearby residence, which they intend to retain.
A $35 Million House On The Sand
Constructed in the mid-1990s, the approximately 6,500-square-foot home occupies a 0.3-acre beachfront lot in Paradise Cove. The four-bedroom property was designed around its sweeping views and direct connection to the Pacific.
The main floor features a spacious living room that opens onto a deck facing the water, as well as a dining space with ocean views. A striking two-story fireplace serves as the interior centerpiece. An elevator and dumbwaiter provide access between the home’s multiple levels.
Downstairs, a wet bar leads to sliding glass doors and a covered deck outfitted with a private Jacuzzi. The landscaped front grounds include a waterfall and a tiki-style pavilion, which the couple has used for workouts and yoga sessions.
A video tour of the Malibu residence, recorded when it was previously listed in August 2015, can be viewed below:
Paradise Cove’s “Billionaires’ Bluff”
Much of the property’s value comes from its setting. Paradise Cove is among Malibu’s most expensive residential enclaves, while the bluff overlooking the beach is often dubbed “Billionaires’ Bluff” by local real estate professionals. The neighborhood has also been the site of two record-setting residential sales in California.
The celebrity and billionaire residents nearby help explain the area’s reputation. Beyoncé and Jay-Z have a home in the community, as do venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs.
Unlike many properties perched above the shoreline, McEnroe and Smyth’s residence sits directly on the sand, offering especially rare and convenient beach access.
McEnroe Fell In Love With Malibu In The 1970s
McEnroe’s affinity for Malibu began decades ago. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he recalled discovering the area in the late 1970s while dating a woman from Beverly Hills. Although New York has long been his primary home, the tennis great continued returning to Southern California and eventually started acquiring property there.
Today, McEnroe primarily lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and he has called both New York City and Malibu his favorite places in the world. Their starkly different atmospheres appear to be part of what makes each location special to him.
The tranquil beachfront setting has offered a welcome contrast to McEnroe’s famously fiery athletic career. He has said that life by the ocean helps him unwind, adding with a joke that relaxing has become easier as he has grown older.
That calmer side is a far cry from the player forever associated with the outburst, “You cannot be serious!”
John And Patty’s Malibu Real Estate Portfolio
The Paradise Cove listing is part of a much longer Malibu real estate story for McEnroe and Smyth. McEnroe once owned a Carbon Beach home previously associated with legendary “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson, and he spent decades owning another beachfront residence inside the gated Malibu Colony community.
He acquired the Malibu Colony property during his marriage to actress Tatum O’Neal. McEnroe and Smyth later carried out an extensive renovation before selling the home in an off-market transaction for $29 million in 2022.
The couple expanded their Paradise Cove holdings in 2013, paying $3.35 million for a ranch-style house set on 1.5 acres. In 2015, they added the larger beachfront residence now listed for $35 million.
Because McEnroe and Smyth plan to hold on to the smaller home, a deal for the beachfront property would still leave them firmly connected to Malibu.
McEnroe And Smyth’s $100 Million Fortune
Together, McEnroe and Smyth have an estimated net worth of $100 million, earned through tennis, music, endorsements, broadcasting, art, and real estate investments.
McEnroe collected more than $12.5 million in official tournament prize money during a career highlighted by seven Grand Slam singles titles. His financial success, however, extended well beyond competition winnings. By the early 2000s, his endorsement earnings were estimated at $100 million, and he later established a prominent broadcasting career covering Wimbledon, the US Open, and other major tennis events.
Smyth built her own successful music career as the lead singer of Scandal, whose biggest hits included “Goodbye to You” and “The Warrior.” As a solo artist, she scored one of the biggest hits of the early 1990s with her Don Henley duet “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough.”
Today, McEnroe and Smyth spend most of their time in New York, which makes owning multiple multimillion-dollar houses in Malibu a little less necessary. For $35 million, one buyer now has the chance to take the larger one off their hands.
