Whispers drifting through Los Angeles suggest that former Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, prominent attorney Doug Emhoff, have quietly packed up their Brentwood life and set their sights on Malibu’s sun-polished coastline. According to a well-placed source, the couple recently purchased a $10 million property near Zuma Beach, opting for ocean breezes and additional privacy over the mounting security challenges of their previous neighborhood.
The move is financially feasible, the source added with a shrug of inevitability: Emhoff reportedly bills $2,000 an hour in his legal practice, while Harris continues to draw substantial income from paid speaking engagements and her best-selling book. “107 Days,” Harris’s memoir chronicling her short-lived 2020 presidential campaign, landed on the New York Times bestseller list and remains a strong performer four months after publication.
For more than a decade, the couple’s home base was a 3,500-square-foot Brentwood residence that Emhoff purchased in 2012 for $2.7 million, two years before marrying Harris. The four-bedroom property is now valued at roughly $4.7 million, but the pair has long been uneasy about the risks associated with the area. Brentwood has repeatedly faced evacuation orders due to major wildfires, including 2019’s Getty Fire and last year’s devastating Palisades Fire.
While their house escaped damage each time, the surrounding uncertainty—and at least one alarming incident—appears to have weighed heavily. In 2023, officers detained two people found on the property during overnight curfew hours, responding to a call about a potential burglary. The suspects were ultimately released after police found no evidence of criminal activity, but the episode underscored the vulnerability of high-profile residents during wildfire-related disruptions.
As flames climbed from the Pacific Palisades toward inland neighborhoods, the National Guard and multiple law-enforcement agencies enforced curfews and carried out patrols from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., aiming to deter looting and trespassing. The Palisades Fire—one of the most destructive in Los Angeles history—claimed five lives, scorched more than 23,000 acres, and destroyed over 5,000 structures.
In Malibu, Harris and Emhoff appear to have chosen distance and discretion, trading canyon-adjacent tension for coastal calm. Whether the move signals a long-term shift or simply a strategic retreat from wildfire season remains to be seen.
