Keeping up with the residents of California’s Coachella Valley, home to an array of notables including Adele, Tim Cook and Phil Knight—as well as a cluster of Kardashians.
When the world’s most famous couple hit the Coachella music festival in April, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce didn’t have to venture far to find refuge from 200,000 sets of prying eyes. “I’ve got a cheat code,” Kelce later revealed. “I know where to stay.”
The pair turned to the Madison Club, an ultra-luxe sanctuary across the street from the concert grounds. A diamond in the California desert, the Madison Club, in the town of La Quinta, is a hidden oasis of rolling hills, world-class golf—and scores of vacationing celebrities, business executives and at least three billionaires.
The 500-acre patch boasts some 200 custom mansions dotting 18 lush greens designed by golf course legend Tom Fazio. Admission will cost you: Homes in the very gated community run upward of $30 million, and dues are $500,000 upfront plus $75,000 a year. But membership has its perks, including a top-notch day spa and, for golfers, “comfort stations” every four holes offering everything from ice cream sandwiches to bottles of tequila. “It’s the most exclusive country club in the Coachella Valley,” says local realtor Elaine Stewart.
The neighborhood has history. Celebrities have been road-tripping, jetting and choppering the 100 miles from Hollywood to the Palm Springs area for a century, dating to the eras of Greta Garbo and Frank Sinatra. The current crop of A-listers has fallen for the modern-but-casual Madison, which developer Mike Meldman sculpted out of a flat piece of ranchland beginning in 2005.
“I was inspired by the area’s relaxed attitude,” says Meldman, who has developed 35 high-end ’hoods around the world through his Scottsdale, Arizona–based Discovery Land Company and who cofounded Casamigos Tequila with pals Rande Gerber and George Clooney. “It’s a place where everyone can relax and have a good time.”
Here’s a peek through the palm trees at some of the most notable members of this super-private club.
Adele
Est. property value: $10 mil
The 16-time Grammy winner has yet to take the stage at Coachella, but she said “hello” to the Madison Club in 2020, picking up a 7,600-square-foot manse for $8 million.
Justin Bieber
Estimated property value: $17 mil
The pop star is keeping up with the Kardashians. In January 2023, Bieber shelled out $16.6 million for a 10,000-square-foot, 10-bathroom spread with a next-door neighbor just as famous as he is: Kris Jenner.
Tim Cook
Estimated property value: $15 mil
The billionaire Apple chief exec paid $9.1 million in 2019 for a 10,000-square-foot home with an infinity pool overlooking the 15th fairway, filling it with abstract art and a custom piece depicting Mahatma Gandhi.
Fred Couples
Estimated property value: $10 mil
The 64-year-old former world No. 1 golfer missed the cut at the 2024 Masters by six strokes, but he’s still bringing home trophies: Earlier this year, he won a members’ tournament at the Madison Club, where he designed his own house. “Best win of my career,” tweeted the 1992 Masters champ.
John Elway
Estimated property value: $5 mil
One of the longest-tenured celebrities in the neighborhood: For more than a dozen years the hall of fame NFL quarterback has kept a villa at the Madison Club, not far from NBA hall of famer Jerry West.
Lucian Grainge
Estimated property value: Over $10 mil
Sir Lucian, the CEO of Universal Music Group, bought a six-bed, 6,000-square-foot home in 2018, and grabbed the lot next door to assemble an 18,000-square-foot megamansion. His star-studded 60th birthday bash, held at the Madison Club in February 2020, reportedly put him in the hospital for several weeks with Covid-19.
Kris Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian
Estimated property value: $20 mil, $20 mil, $10 mil, $18 mil
This is Kardashian country. No clan owns more property at the Madison Club than the first family of reality TV. Matriarch and “momager” Kris led the way, buying a seven-bedroom home away from home in 2018 for $12 million. Kylie, 26, later built her own modern getaway next door; Kim, 43, has a two-acre double lot up the road; Kourtney, 45, bought a $12 million place a few streets over in 2021. Khloé, 39, meanwhile, owns two undeveloped plots nearby with her ex, NBA player Tristan Thompson.
Kris Jenner’s (center) famous neighbors include Justin Bieber (left) and daughter Kylie Jenner (right).
Federico Winer/Ultradistancia
Phil Knight
Estimated property value: $7 mil
America’s 20th-richest person scooped up a five-bedroom, 5,400-square-foot Mediterranean manor overlooking the 14th hole in 2015 for $4.3 million—or 0.01% of his current $39.2 billion fortune. The Nike cofounder bought and sold an empty lot nearby, too.
Lori Loughlin
Estimated property value: $16 mil
The Full House actress and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, drastically upgraded their living conditions in 2021, when they scooped up a $13 million Madison Club abode a few months after they each left federal prison. The couple pleaded guilty to fraud charges in 2020 after paying $500,000 to get their daughters admitted to USC.
Billy Walters
Estimated property value: $12 mil
America’s most famous sports gambler, who claims a 36-year winning streak, plunked down $750,000 for a half-acre corner lot in 2014, three years before he was convicted on ten counts of insider trading charges. He served three years of a five-year sentence, which was commuted by Donald Trump just before he left office.
This story was first published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
