After KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons bought a nearly 11,000-square-foot estate in Henderson, Nevada's Ascaya luxury community and an adjacent half-acre lot for $10.8 million in May, he planted 137 trees on the parcel. Earlier today, the 72-year-old rocker shared video of the process to cover the adjacent vacant land with trees, saying "it was all done in two days." Check out the clip below. Five months after buying the Southern Nevada estate, he put it on the market in October for $14.95 million, but that price came down on November 17 to $13.5 million. Among the improvements Simmons made to the Las Vegas house is installing all new floors and ripping up wall-to-wall carpeting in some of the rooms. Speaking to TMZ about his decision to sell the home only five months after buying it, Gene said: "First I bought it because Mr. Biden [U.S. president Joe Biden] and Mr. Newsom [California governor Gavin Newsom] are looking to raise taxes to the point where if I work really hard to earn a legal dollar, I may get to keep 35 cents. So, California has become untenable. So I'd rather leave the money to my family and to charity and so on, so I wanted to move to Las Vegas. No income tax, no state tax, no local tax, no inheritance tax, beautiful place, great. Except for one thing — my family doesn't wanna go there. They're not gonna put up with the heat, and down the street, there's strippers and stuff like that. They don't wanna deal with any of that." He continued: "I bought [the house] for 8.6 [million], then I bought the property next door for 2.4 [million] and planted 137 trees. So, guys, I can this for 25 or 30 million, but I'm blessed. I'd like to meet the person that's gonna wind up buying the place because I don't wanna just hand it over to some knucklehead. I want you to enjoy it and have a good life." According to Gene, his wife and their two adult children prefer to stay at the family's other homes, an extensive portfolio which includes a modern lake house in Whistler, British Columbia, a home in Malibu and two houses in L.A. that Gene bought for the Simmons kids, Nick and Sophie. "They're not fans of 115-degree weather," Simmons told The Wall Street Journal. Because of KISS's touring schedule and his business travel, Gene said he never spent more than a few weeks total in Las Vegas. He went on to say that he had no regrets about selling the property so soon after the purchase, adding: "How many houses do you need anyway?" According to TMZ, Simmons purchased a mansion in Beverly Hills, California in October for $10.5 million. The home occupies more than 7,000 square feet of living apace and an additional 1800 square feet of "sleek deck space." The sophisticated design allows for scenic views from the expansive kitchen, dining, living room, four bedrooms and five bathrooms, upstairs library/gallery space and a sliver of glass in the home theater. The home is one half solar powered, using roof panels to heat the pool and radiant heated floors. In September, Simmons sold his Los Angeles mansion for $16 million, almost a year after he first put it on the market for $22 million. He later relisted it for $25 million after it never sold and he reportedly invested a lot of money in making improvements. Gene bought the Los Angeles property back in October 1986 for $1,337,500. Simmons has been very vocal about his desire to leave California for some time due to wanting a quieter lifestyle and to get away from being listed on celebrity maps or having to deal with Beverly Hills tour buses. He also said that part of the reason he and his wife listed the two-acre property in Benedict Canyon because the home had become too big for the both of them since their children had grown up. Gene and Shannon were married in 2011 after dating since 1975. Gene, Shannon and their kids all appeared on the reality TV series "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" from 2006 until 2012.
About a year ago, I bought the property next door to the Vegas house. Decided to cover the adjacent vacant land with 137 trees. It was all done in 2 days. Watch! pic.twitter.com/HUFLG4I9FO
— Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) December 29, 2021
Continue reading...
About a year ago, I bought the property next door to the Vegas house. Decided to cover the adjacent vacant land with 137 trees. It was all done in 2 days. Watch! pic.twitter.com/HUFLG4I9FO
— Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) December 29, 2021
Continue reading...
