Petra Ecclestone has dropped the price of her LA home amid family’s move into a $70M Dubai mansion

Formula 1 heiress Petra Ecclestone and her husband, real estate broker Sam Palmer, are dropping the price of their Los Angeles home to $39.5 million, down from its $41.95 million ask last May, Gimme Shelter has learned.

They’re now in Dubai, where they bought a $70 million home in the Emirates Hills, Gimme Shelter can also exclusively reveal.

“It’s the most luxurious gated community in Dubai,” Palmer told Gimme Shelter. “But it’s not finished yet. We hope to move in the next couple of weeks.” 

Ecclestone is the daughter of Formula 1 billionaire Bernie Ecclestone; Palmer is a top broker with The Agency. The couple share a 4-year-old daughter; Petra also has 10-year-old twin boys and a 12-year-old daughter with her ex-husband, James Stunt. 

Their 30,000-square-foot Dubai home comes with eight bedrooms over four floors overlooking the Montgomery golf course. 

“We left LA because of what it became,” Palmer added. “A city ruined by the people who govern it. We wanted to live in a place where streets are clean, no homeless, consequences for crime, better schooling and parks and beaches you can use and enjoy. I only miss very few friends in LA, which is sad as I used to love the place. I suppose the biggest thing I miss is how it used to be.” 

They had been thinking about leaving LA for some time. Last February, Ecclestone said in an interview: “The crime in America is awful and we want a safe environment for our kids. It’s the gun crime and the shootings. We ice-skated with our kids just before Christmas, and a homeless person dropped dead next to us. And seeing people smoke crack is not an environment we want to be in.”

Their LA home, which is in Brentwood — and was spared from last year’s wildfires — comes with seven bedrooms and sits on half an acre. The couple paid $30.5 million for it in 2023. 

The couple also have an 18th-century mansion in London’s Chelsea neighborhood, which was recently for sale. “The London house is now off the market, as we will be spending summers there,” Palmer said. The home was last asking a staggering $205 million.

In 2019, Ecclestone also sold “The Manor,” the 57,000-square-foot home that had been built by the late TV producer Aaron Spelling for $120 million. Ecclestone had bought the French Chateau-style home from Candy Spelling, Aaron’s widow, for $85 million in 2011.  

Palmer is co-listing the Brentwood home with Blair Chang, also of The Agency.