Who Is Jason Oppenheim? Everything To Know About Broker On 'Selling Sunset' On Netflix
He has a twin!
When the hot new show Selling Sunset dropped last year, many were curious — was it on Netflix or Bravo? You're not the only one who may have been confused. It's on Netflix, but it's a Bravo-style show. Interesting, right?
The series became such a hit that it was brought back for another season, which just started streaming on May 22. Fans will get to witness all the new professional and personal drama the second season will bring.
The series follows the antics of the realtors at The Oppenheim Group, a high-end, flashy real estate firm that sells luxurious homes on and around the Sunset Strip to famous clients. Not suprisingly, working with LA's glamorous set isn't easy.
The Oppenheim Group is run by twin real estate broker brothers, Jason and Brett Oppenheim. It's a family business that was founded by the twins' great-great-grandfather Jacob Stern in 1889.
Who is Jason Oppenheim, twin broker on Selling Sunset?
He's a top real estate agent.
Jason Oppenheim was born in Palo Alto, California. He attended Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, California. He then went to the University of California Berkeley for both his undergraduate degree and law degree.
In 2018, the Wall Street Journal recognized Oppenheim as one of the "Best Real Estate Agents in America," as the #1 Agent in the Hollywood Hills/Sunset Strip, the #3 Agent in Los Angeles, and the #27 Agent in the United States.
He's worked with famous people.
Jason Oppenheim and his team have worked with a number of well-known and famous people in Los Angeles including: Ellen DeGeneres, Jessica Alba, Meryl Streep, Taye Diggs, Dakota Johnson, Orlando Bloom, Rob Zombie, athletes Kris Humphries and Giancalo Stanton, among many others.
He's philanthropic.
Oppenheim and his team work in a rarified environment where Oscar winning and very wealthy clients can drop $5 million to $10 million or more on some of the most luxurious homes in Los Angeles. It would be easy to lose perspective, especially when they are driving Rolls Royces and showing $10+ million houses to tech billionaires.
That's why Oppenheim encourages his team at The Oppenheim Group to volunteer at Food on Foot, a nonprofit that helps the poor and homeless. He also recognizes that the high-end homes he and his team sell do contribute to the affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles, and to the rapid rise in numbers of the city's homeless population.
He contributes a significant amount of his own money to Food on Foot. About that, he said, "The bottom 1 percent is just as important at the top 1 percent."
Jason Oppenheim is part of the fifth generation to go into real estate.
Jason's (and Brett's) great-great-grandfather Jacob Stern founded The Stern Realty Co. in Los Angeles in 1889. Jacob Stern was one of the prominent real estate brokers and developers of early Los Angeles.
Stern built his home on a five-acre lot at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. In 1925, Stern built the Hollywood Plaza Hotel, which quickly became the hot spot for the entertainment industry and is now a California Historic Landmark.
That's impressive, but it isn't The Stern Realty Co.'s most famous deal. That came when Jacob Stern rented his horse barn at his residence at Hollywood and Vine to three newcomers to Los Angeles.
In that barn, Cecil B. Demille, Jesse Lasky, and Samuel Goldwyn established the first movie studio in Hollywood: Paramount Pictures. The first full-length feature film, The Squaw Man, was produced and premiered in the barn.
The barn is a National Historic Landmark and is the current home of the Hollywood Heritage Museum.
He had a relationship with one of his agents.
Oppenheim previously dated one of the real estate agents at his firm. He dated Mary Fitzgerald for four years before the filming of Selling Sunset began. Fitzgerald is now married to Romain Bonnet.
Oppenheim and Fitzgerald adopted dogs together during their relatonship, and continue to share custody and care of them. They are close friends who don't let their past history stand in the way of business or friendship.
After a dinner party at Oppenheim's house, which was attended by Fitzgerald and Bonnet, Oppenheim revealed, “Mary and I understand that our situation is unique and that many find it hard to be close friends with an ex. The way I see it, you choose to be with someone because you love and value that person as a friend. So just because you break up and are no longer romantically involved shouldn’t mean that you aren’t able to still respect and love that person as a friend.
My ex-girlfriend before Mary is also one of my closest friends, as is her husband. If you treat your significant other with respect and you don’t do anything to violate his/her trust, then I see no reason why, with time, you can’t be friends after a breakup.”
The show will be getting a third season.
Although the second season just started streaming, this won't be the last that we'll see of Oppenheim and the ladies of Selling Sunset.
In a recent interview, Oppenheim explained, "I don't really want to comment on season three other than to say that season three is awesome. It really is, I think season two is better than season one, and I think season three is better than season two. Everyone's just getting way more comfortable and open. I do sell the $45 million (though)!"
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on April 2019 and was updated with the latest information.