We all know Jet Li for his acting chops and wushu prowess that spanned generations of movies in both Hollywood and China. But a little-known fact is that the actor bought a good class bungalow (GCB) in the Bukit Timah enclave for a whopping $19.8M back in 2009.
The news wasn’t only fascinating for the people who follow the luxury housing market. In case you didn’t know, only Singaporean Citizens can buy landed properties in Singapore. Foreigners cannot do the same unless it’s in Sentosa or they’ve been granted special permission from the Singapore Land Authority, and Jet was still holding US citizenship around the time news broke of him buying his GCB.
This led to many netizens on forums speculating if Jet had acquired Singaporean citizenship. While news outlets reported that he’s now a naturalised Singaporean, Uchify found public records hinting that the actor has since taken up Canadian citizenship. Jet has also barely been spotted in Singapore since he bought the GCB, corroborating rumours that his family is no longer based here too.
Still, Jet’s sprawling mansion with its perfectly-manicured grounds and aesthetic resembling an Italian villa is an inspirational landmark amidst the other modern contemporary homes around the area. We take a quick look at Jet Li’s house in Singapore to get an idea of how the actor chose to live out his post-Hollywood days.
Bought for $871/sqft back in 2009
Image credit: Google Maps
The Business Times (BT) first reported in June 2009 that Jet Li had purchased a good class bungalow on Binjai Rise for $19.8m. With a total area of 22,723sqft, the actor would’ve paid a cool $871/sqft for the entire compound. The freehold lot is also one of the bigger plots of land in the area, with other homes further down the street being anywhere from 13,000-17,000sqft.
It was also around this period that Jet announced plans to expand his philanthropic work with One Foundation into Singapore.
While a branch was established locally, his plans didn’t take off. During the 2011 International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) World Volunteer Conference, Jet said that “many things in Singapore are [already] very mature” and that “there are already many [charitable] organisations here.” This might also explain why Jet has not been seen much in Singapore.
Jet Li’s home.
Image credit: AsiaOne/The Business Times
While Jet bought the house from an entrepreneur in the education sector, it’s been rumoured that the house formerly belonged to Frank Benjamin of FJ Benjamin, the distributor of luxury brands like Marc Jacobs and Fauré Le Page.
The fashion tycoon was also said to have hosted lavish parties within the GCB, with invitees including David Beckham during one event in 2001. Two models later claimed to have spent some alone time with the famous footballer which was par for the course if the tabloids were to be believed.
Currently unknown whether Jet Li’s house is occupied or not
Not much else is known about Jet Li’s house in Singapore, with Google Street View proving tough to see how the GCB looks like from the exterior as well. With his 2 youngest daughters studying abroad and his charity efforts focused elsewhere at the moment, there’s not much reason for him to reside here for now.
However, public records still show that Jet and Nina are co-owners of this Binjai Rise bungalow. Should they decide to sell it, they should be able to fetch at least $30M for the property. In the last decade, GCBs at a similar size within the exclusive Binjai Park enclave have sold for above $30M. Residents around the area include renowned doctors, as well as acclaimed chef and cookbook author Indra Iswaran.
The entrance to Jet Li’s Shanghai mansion looks like a luxury European holiday home.
Image credit: Universal Marble & Granite Group
Another property in Jet’s portfolio include a $40M mansion in Shanghai, although it’s reported that it has since been “abandoned” and is being used as a dormitory for security guards.
Here’s hoping that we’ll get to see Jet Li hanging out in Singapore sometime, and maybe we’ll get to see Beckham partying it up in this iconic mansion again.
Read more about homes of famous people:
- Sentosa Cove’s Fish House
- JJ Lin’s OUE apartment
- Alibaba co-founder’s $50m GCB
- Haomart CEO’s 8-shaped bungalow
Cover image adapted from: AsiaOne
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