Monaco real estate billionaire Patrice Pastor has said he ‘cannot understand’ why locals are ‘so worried’ about him buying up properties in the small village of Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Pastor, 51, responded to claims that residents are ‘terrified’ by his involvement in Carmel, telling DailyMail.com: ‘We love the town, and we want to protect its unique history and character’.
A row broke out after the billionaire bought another historic multi-million dollar property, meaning he now owns at least 15 homes and businesses with an estimated worth of over $100 million, in the town.
Pastor is known for his feud with Monaco’s Prince Albert II – and for the very public falling out the two had in recent years.
Through his company, Esperanza Carmel, Pastor has been buying up homes and businesses – including a $22 million Frank Lloyd Wright house – in the small town about 75 miles from San Jose since 2015.
Monaco real estate billionaire Patrice Pastor has bought over a dozen properties in the small town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Pastor reportedly bought a Frank Lloyd Wright home in Carmel for $22million – it is the only ocean front home by the architect
Rocky Point is one of the development projects Pastor is working on
Pastor now owns more than 15 properties according to SFGATE, with one anonymous third-generation local telling the outlet ‘people are terrified’ that they are ‘handing over our town to one person who’s doing what he wants to do.’
But the real estate billionaire maintains it is not an issue, and says he has the town’s best interests at heart.
He told DailyMail.com: ‘Naturally we can understand how someone new in town might make people nervous, especially as we prefer to keep a lower profile.
‘But cannot understand why someone would be so worried about our investment in Carmel.
‘We have been very clear from our first investment that we love the town, and we want to protect its unique history and character.
‘This is why we are focused on purchasing the more beautiful buildings in town like La Rambla.”
The town – which has just 4,000 residents – was named the ‘destination of the moment’ by Vogue.
It has long been a favorite hangout for Hollywood’s elite and was famously presided over by Clint Eastwood as mayor in the 1980s.
It is now favored by celebrities including Brad Pitt who bought a $40 million home there in 2022.
The tycoon paid $13.9 million for the L’Auberge Carmel Hotel on Monte Verde Street
The luxury Carmel Beach Hotel is one of the few within walking distance of the beach
The Eastwood Building once once owned by movie star Clint Eastwood and rumored to be the reason he ran for Mayor of Carmel in 1986
The Forge in the Forest is an 8,000 square foot restaurant in downtown Carmel
Pastor’s latest purchase was the historic $7.5million La Rambla building made up of two apartments and two commercial spaces.
The white villa-style property has a large sunny courtyard with a water feature.
In 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported that Pastor bought renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s only existing ocean front home for $22 million.
The Carmel property was designed to look like a boat cutting through water.
Lloyd Wright originally designed the house, also known as ‘the cabin on the rocks,’ for artist Della Walker around 1950.
Pastor is also currently running three construction projects in the area, according to his property company’s website.
His largest project is the Ulrika Plaza new build development, which will be a 42,000 square foot mixed-use, retail and residential space.
The site also lists the the JB Pastor Project which will be a 30,000 square foot mixed-use, retail and residential.
He is also renovating the Rocky Point Project. The site says: ‘Originally constructed in 1951, located on Highway 1 between Carmel and Big Sur, Rocky Point enjoys one of the best views in the world.’
Pastor (left) and his wife (second left) in 2015 at the Monaco Foundation dinner in London with Marc Lecourt and his wife
The Ulrika Plaza project is a 38,000 square foot mixed-use, retail and residential, new build development
The JB Pastor project is a 30,000 square foot mixed-use, retail and residential, new build development – currently in the planning stage
And he owns notable buildings including L’Auberge Carmel Hotel, the Brown-Spaulding Building and the Eastwood Building.
In all he is thought to have spent nearly $100 million on properties in the village 75 miles south of San Jose.
The concerned business owner told SFGATE that ‘people are terrified’.
They added: ‘What’s going to happen as he spends so much money on the building, the property tax goes up and the rents go up and the only people who can afford it are chain stores?
‘What’s going to happen to our mom-and-pop shops? What’s going to happen to our local feel?’
They said that the small town is now split into four camps, those who are too afraid to speak up because they are financially tied to Pastor, those who don’t speak up because they want to be financially tied to Pastor, those who do speak up and finally new residents who are ‘blissfully unaware’.
Some residents recently took a trip to see at the family’s work in Monaco where his father Victor Pastor was for decades ‘essentially the developer-in-chief for the entire principality’.
One came back describing it as looking like a ‘concrete beehive.’
‘Now is the time to stand up,’ he added.
‘If not now, then we’re going to look and feel incredibly different in five years.’
Prince Albert II and Pastor are reportedly in a feud
The most recent property bought by Pastor is the La Rambla, a mixed residential and commercial property
It has a sun terrace which could be used for outdoor restaurant seating or weddings
But not everyone fears Pastor’s involvement in the town.
Real estate agent Tim Allen told SFGATE: ‘I think the focus has been on “Oh my gosh, he’s buying up everything!” But the reality is he owns very little compared to some families that have been here for a while.
‘We need an influx. If he’s restoring something in an area that’s big or small, it shows that if people work together, as opposed to thinking someone’s right or wrong, then you can move everything in the right direction.’
He added: ‘I know Patrice, he’s like family, and he loves Carmel, loves it. And what he’s doing is good for our community.’
Likewise, local conservation associations have expressed support of Pastor’s plans.
Karyl Hall, who helped form the Carmel Preservation Association told local newspaper Carmel Pine Cone: ‘We are the luckiest people in the world to have him (Pastor) come in.
‘He cares about Carmel and cares that Carmel keep its character… He has the money to come in and do what nobody else can do.’
Billionaire property developer Patrice Pastor has been dubbed ‘The Octopus’ in his native Monaco, and left locals terrified of his ambitions in the Californian village of Carmel
Princess Charlene of Monaco and Prince Albert Of Monaco after their wedding in 2011
The building has two apartments upstairs and two commercial spaces downstairs and sold for $7.5million
Pastor is notorious for his feud with Monaco’s crown prince which has been raging since 2021.
In 2021, an email from Prince Albert II’s press advisor to one of the Prince’s close friends was shared on an anonymous website, LesDossiersDuRocher.com, which published incriminating evidence about Monaco’s royal family.
The email said: ‘That octopus Pastor is everywhere! He has gotten his hooks into Monaco. He has gone mad, he has no limits!’
Le Monde reported at the time: ‘This supposed “octopus” appears to be multi-billionaire Patrice Pastor, a 49-year-old who for decades constructed and rented buildings and apartments for small fortunes.
‘Proud and with no frills, he is an unmistakable character in Monaco. “I’m not a nice guy,” he said. “I’m free, independent and I have money, so… Everything in the ‘Dossiers du Rocher’ is true, and everyone knows it! The truth is that I irritate them.”‘
Meanwhile AirMail reported last year: ‘Patrice Pastor has been described as the only man in Monaco more influential than its ruler.’
It added: ‘He is a canny, outspoken developer with statement glasses and leonine hair, who has long controlled Monaco’s property market and thus, in essence, most of Monaco itself.’
Rivals describe him in the article as competitive, and say he wants ‘to win contracts not for the money … but to crush everyone.’