Barbra Streisand donated her $15M Malibu estate to conservation in 1993

For years, Barbra Streisand’s Ramirez Canyon estate had been a private Malibu retreat, complete with five houses, landscaped grounds and interiors reflecting her fascination with Art Deco.The property had proved difficult to sell, remaining on the market from 1987 until 1993, while its listing price fell from $18 million to $11.5 million. Then Streisand chose a very different future for the estate. According to Los Angeles Times, in November 1993, she agreed to donate the roughly 17,000-square-foot property to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, with state appraisers valuing the gift at $15 million. The plan went beyond simply protecting the land.The conservancy envisioned an environmental research centre, space for visiting scholars and researchers, conferences and eventual public access. For Streisand, the donation offered a way to keep the unusual estate together rather than see it gradually divided or lose the character that had made it distinctive.Barbra Streisand’s Ramirez Canyon property became a $15 million conservation giftThe Ramirez Canyon property was not an ordinary piece of undeveloped mountain land. Five houses stood across the estate, arranged among trees and ga...