Trevor Noah's New Pad Is Fit for a Comedy King
Trevor Noah is moving on up. "The Daily Show" host picked up an ultra-modern, ivy-covered masterpiece in Los Angeles, California, for a whopping $27.5 million.
Located in the ritzy and super-exclusive Bel Air neighborhood, the multi-leveled mansion is quite a stunning piece of architecture. It's massive, too, but it's only 100 square feet bigger than his previous mansion, which he sold before buying this one.
Noah lives quite a different lifestyle now than the one he was raised in, when he slept on floors during South Africa's apartheid era. Come take a tour of Noah's newest home in Los Angeles. Additionally, we're also taking a peek into Noah's condo in New York City, where he has been filming "The Daily Show" since it went remote in 2020.
An 11,000-Square-Foot Pad
Noah picked up this home just five days after Christmas in 2020, making it a kind of very large New Year's gift to himself.
But it's not just for himself. According to reports, his girlfriend, actress Minka Kelly, is moving into the 11,000-square-foot pad with him.
With six bedrooms and eight full bathrooms, they'll have plenty of room. So all the power to him. And them.
A Flip?
Noah owned another large, modern mansion in Bel Air before buying this one.
His previous mansion was a 10,000-square-foot home, which he bought for $20.5 million in 2019 and flipped for $21.7 million the following year. Maybe he's looking to do the same here? But it's more likely that he will be staying a while with Kelly.
"They're making plans for a future together, and it's a very stable relationship," a source told People. "They've been spending time between coasts over the last year and had been looking for a place in L.A. as a couple."
Trevor Noah's Net Worth and Salary
Trevor Noah is worth an estimated $100 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth and makes $16 million per year for "The Daily Show."
In 2019, Forbes estimated that Noah earned $28 million that year, mostly from standup.
Swapping swanky houses for an extra $1 million a year ain't that bad of a side gig, either.
Difficult Beginnings
Noah grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, to a white father and Black mother. Raised under apartheid law, his mother, Patricia, would disguise herself as a maid in white areas, while his father would have to pretend not to know Noah because interracial coupling was illegal.
"You know, I'm running down the street, and he's running away because he doesn't want us to get into trouble — and I think I'm playing a game. And what you don't realize is that they're basically running away from the law," he recalled to NPR.
A Childhood in Hiding
Under apartheid, biracial children could be taken away from their parents, which meant Noah had to spend much of his early childhood in hiding.
He would play "a constant game of hide-and-seek" if and when the cops showed up, he said. When he was 9 years old, his mother threw him out of a minibus (and she hurled herself out) to escape a driver who was going to kill them.
Writing Letters
Noah's mother raised him, and he rarely saw his father. In his memoir, "Born a Crime," he talks about having arguments with his mother via letters because Noah was too fast to retort.
The two would exchange letters, writing them in separate rooms in the house, sometimes over arguments that lasted days.
Burning Down the House
When Noah was a child, he accidentally burned down a house after playing with matches and a magnifying glass and leaving them behind on some straw. The house belonged to a white family, who was renting out a room to his mother's boyfriend.
"I didn’t feel bad about it at all. I still don’t. The lawyer in me maintains that I am completely innocent. There were matches and there was a magnifying glass and there was a mattress and then, clearly, a series of unfortunate events. Things catch fire sometimes. That’s why there’s a fire brigade. But everyone in my family will tell you, 'Trevor burned down a house,'" he writes in "Born a Crime."
Luckily, there are no straw mattresses in this house.
The Library
Noah certainly wouldn't want to burn this place down.
The mansion was made by architect Mark Rios, who built the home in 2014 and incorporated stunning uses of floor-to-ceiling glass, which showcase the lush Bel Air outdoors.
At the end of this hallway is a cozy, modern library.
The Master Bedroom
Noah can sleep in this grand bedroom, with awesome views of the hillside area.
It's a far cry from growing up dirt poor in Africa, sleeping on floors next to other family members.
The Master Bathroom
As a child, and when his mother was able to afford a car, Noah and his mom would drive around, looking at houses in white neighborhoods.
"We’d go look at people’s houses, look at their mansions. We’d look at their walls, mostly, because that’s all we could see from the road. We’d look at a wall that ran from one end of the block to the other and go, 'Wow. That’s only one house. All of that is for one family,'" he writes in his memoir.
A lot can change in 30 years.
The Office
Noah had his first taste of show business at the age of 18, where he acted on a South African soap opera called "Isidingo." He went on to have a radio show and hosted several South African programs, including two dating shows.
During this time, he honed his stand-up game and became a very popular comic.
Living Area
Noah moved to the United States in 2011 and appeared on "The Tonight Show" in 2012 and "The Late Show with David Letterman" in 2013.
The Steam Room
The mansion comes with its very own steam room and spa area. The glass pocket doors fully open to the outside, allowing for many moments of Zen.
The floors here are heated as well.
The Gym
The place comes with its own home gym, which is practically required now among the wealthy.
Noah has been broadcasting "The Daily Show" from his home in New York City, a $10 million penthouse in Hell's Kitchen, which he purchased in 2017.
The Bar
As a teenager, Noah and his friend would steal booze-filled chocolates from a stationery shop by reaching through its metal gates after it had closed.
Now he has his very own bar, which he can stock with the best booze money can buy.
The Home Theater
Noah continued to gain popularity after relocating to the states and released several comedy specials along with a 2012 documentary called "You Laugh But It's True." In 2014, he was hired as a correspondent for "The Daily Show" when Jon Stewart was the host.
In 2015, he was tapped to succeed Stewart as the host and was paid a salary between $5 and $8 million (Stewart was earning a salary of around $25 million).
The Living Room
Noah didn't move to the United States just to work on his comedy career. In 1992 in South Africa, Noah'smother married a man named Ngisaveni Abel Shingange. He abused both Noah and Patricia. She divorced him and later remarried.
One day in 2009, while coming home from church with her other two sons and her new husband, Shingange shot Patricia in the head. But it missed her spinal cord and every major vein and artery. She survived and was out of the hospital in four days.
Shingange turned himself in and was given three days probation. According to court documents, one of the reasons Noah left the country was because his stepfather threatened to kill him, too.
Indoor/Outdoor Living
Patricia has made a full recovery and lives in South Africa.
Pretty much all of "Born a Crime" is dedicated to his mother.
The Living Room
This home has tons of rooms and a huge open floorplan, where pretty much every room is accessible on the main level.
There's also an elevator to move oneself between floors if the stairs feel like too much work.
The Outdoor Firepit
Like many homes in the hills of Bel Air, there's an outdoor firepit. The outdoor seating is shaded by large, leafy trees and an outdoor bar is just a few steps away.
This property also has a small rooftop sundeck for lounging.
The Pool
A long infinity pool that seems to be almost half the length of the house stretches from the cabana/bar area.
Now that we've seen his newest home in Los Angeles, let's take a look at his $10 million penthouse and current place of residence in New York City.
Trevor Noah's Penthouse in NYC
Noah lives in a penthouse unit in Stella Tower, a swanky 1927-built Art Deco building in Hell's Kitchen.
He bought the condo in 2017 after renting it for $15,000 a month for six months.
The $10 Million Penthouse
The $10 million penthouse is 4,000 square feet with three bedrooms, three full bathrooms and two half bathrooms.
Before moving in here, the South African comedian was living in a penthouse duplex on the Upper West Side with his then-girlfriend, model Jordyn Taylor. The two broke up in 2018.
From Telephone Company to Condos
This penthouse was brand-new when Noah purchased it.
Stella Tower used to be an old phone company building, and it was restored and transformed into condos by JDS Development Group and Property Markets Group.
The Kitchen
The condos are all very modern with open floorplans. This kitchen has been designed so you can cook while watching the New York City skyline.
It also has tons of storage space.
A New Studio for 'The Daily Show'
Noah has been broadcasting "The Daily Show" from his penthouse since March 2020.
The show has taken on a more YouTube-like format since the transition, and Noah has been steadily growing into his role as Stewart's successor.
The Master Bathroom
The bathroom has pebble tile flooring, a freestanding soaking tub, a marble-floored walk-in shower and two vanities.
The condo originally listed for nearly $12.995 million. Noah paid $10,185,500 for it in February 2017.
Soaking in Style
The freestanding tub sits next to a large window to watch the city and its endless streams of people and cars below.
The building is 18 stories high and has 51 units.
The Master Bedroom
The master bedroom is over 200 square feet and opens to a 934-square-foot outdoor terrace.
The Terrace
Noah's terrace overlooks much of Manhattan.
The 36-year-old comedian has a contract with Comedy Central through 2022 although there's no reason to think he won't be hosting the show for years to come.
During the pandemic, Noah paid his 25 furloughed workers out of his own salary.