We already know celebrities don’t live regular lives, but in some ways, they’re just like us. They like stuff. And they might even have it in larger quantities than we do. To make sure they have a place to keep it, many of them use self storage. Whenever they sold the contents of their unit or they were sold during a self storage auction, a lot of surprising items came into the public eye. If you were wondering who owns or owned what, here’s a short and unexhaustive list of celebrities using self storage:
1. Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton is also famous for her connection to the storage industry. In 2005, her storage unit went up for auction, and it sold the same day. The event was broadcast live while the new owner browsed through the contents. The 6,000-square-foot unit included 18 personal diaries as well as personal photographs. Furniture, clothes and computers were among the least exciting finds. The contents were sold for a whopping $10 million.
2. Jessica Alba
Not quite ready to part with her storage unit, Jessica Alba could be stashing away plenty of interesting treasure there. However, she has been seen hauling things from her Manhattan storage unit, and the big reveal is – she was carrying Christmas decorations! It’s good to know she’s getting ready to deck the halls and embrace the holiday spirit.
3. Madonna
While most celebrities end up having their storage unit auctioned for failure to pay the bills, this was also Madonna’s case, but there’s a twist to the story: It was an accident. Her assistant forgot to pay for it. Unfortunately, her unit was auctioned, and personal items such as photographs, diaries and photo negatives ended up eBay. Madonna’s lawyers pleaded with eBay that she was the owner of the items. Eventually, she was able to regain possession of the items stored and auctioned.
4. Robert Pattinson
As he couldn’t take his belongings with him while traveling, Robert Pattinson rents several storage units across America. He’s apparently a big fan of clothing and books. He might also have an impressive memorabilia collection from the various movies he’s been in. We’d sure like to peek in and check out the movie props he’s collected so far!
5. Nicholas Cage
Did you know Nicholas Cage has an interesting nerdy side? Well, he is a Superman and comic book fan, which led him to buy the original Action Comics #1. The high interest surrounding this particular edition is related to the fact that Superman was first featured here. This was a hefty purchase for Cage – it cost him more than $150,000. Unfortunately, it was stolen from him a few years later. The ill-fated comic book resurfaced a couple of years later in a storage unit that was put for auction. Nicholas Cage was returned his precious comic book after all. It was estimated to be worth over $2 million, but we’re sure it’s a priceless possession to Nicholas Cage.
6. Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie also has a little bit of history with a self storage unit. He was apparently interested in finding a space to park his tour bus in an attempt to hide it from his soon-to-be ex-wife at the time. We’re not sure whether he succeeded or not, but he used a storage facility parking lot and rented a storage unit at the same time to store some of his possessions.
7. Ringo Star
Deciding to dispose of the various items he’d collected throughout the year, Beatles’ Ringo Star auctioned off the various items he collected and kept in storage. Over 800 items were auctioned, and a guitar that belonged to John Lennon worth up to $800,000 was among the most remarkable collectibles. He also put up for auction another interesting item – his Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl drum kit which was used for performances between 1963 and 1964.
8. Barry Switzer
We’ve been so used to seeing celebrities using self storage units that we can’t think of them in another way when it comes to the storage business. However, celebrities are not the renters, but the owners. It’s the case of Barry Switzer, previous Dallas Cowboys owner and current coach of the University of Oklahoma. He owns several storage facilities in the state of Oklahoma.
Which celebrity story using self storage did you find the most intriguing? Let us know in the comments section below.
