Ben Affleck’s $7 Million Imitation Plantation in Georgia Was Reportedly Built on Unmarked Slave Graves
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez married in Vegas in July 2022. But in August, the couple had a big three-day celebration at Affleck’s massive estate in Riceboro, Georgia. While the pair seemed very excited about the wedding, some fans didn’t approve of the location. Many wondered why the couple held the wedding at Affleck’s plantation-style home, allegedly built on unmarked slave graves.
Ben Affleck bought the plantation-style estate in 2003
Affleck bought the house in Georgia in 2003 for $7 million. At the time, he was still dating Lopez, but the two broke up the following year. The mansion, which was built in 2000, was designed by Atlanta-based architect James Strickland to resemble a southern plantation. It was described as “a remarkable re-creation of a Southern antebellum Greek Revival plantation home.”
According to Homes and Gardens, the property spans over 87 acres. It features three structures: The Big House, Summer Cottage, and the Oyster House. With 6,000 square feet of living space, four bedrooms, five bathrooms, and balconies overlooking the murky river, the Big House is the property’s crowning glory. The home features pinewood flooring, 15-foot ceilings, and multiple romantic arched fireplaces and is surrounded by centuries-old live oak trees.
Affleck put the home up for sale in 2018 for $8.9 million. The following year, the actor dropped the asking price to $7.6 million before pulling it from the market in 2020.
Ben Affleck’s imitation plantation in Georgia was reportedly built on unmarked slave graves
The grandeur of Affleck’s Georgia estate is not the only thing that has caught people’s attention. The property’s history and location have been the source of much controversy. According to Daily Mail, the mansion was built on unmarked slave graves.
The property is located in an area that was once home to many plantations, where slaves worked and lived in harsh conditions. And according to WTOC, Roswell King, a plantation manager and slave owner, once owned the land.
The controversy surrounding the mansion did not deter Affleck and his now-wife, Jennifer Lopez, from having their wedding there. The couple exchanged vows at the mansion in a private ceremony attended by close family and friends. The wedding was reportedly an extravagant affair, with a star-studded guest list and luxurious decorations.
Ben Affleck once tried to ignore a similar link to slavery
Some accused Affleck of glorifying the South’s slave-owning history by buying the property and using it as a wedding venue. However, the backlash against Affleck’s mansion is not the first time the actor’s connections to slave owners have made headlines.
WikiLeaks released a bunch of Sony e-mails in 2015. Among them were messages from Affleck asking the PBS show Finding Your Roots to cut out a part where he finds out that he’s a descendant of a slave owner. The network cut the segment, and the broadcast instead focused on Affleck’s mother, a Freedom Rider, during the Civil Rights Movement.
PBS eventually conceded that Affleck had “improper influence” over the show’s editing process. Affleck responded to the allegations against him regarding his family history in a 2015 Facebook post (via Variety). The actor wrote that he was embarrassed. He didn’t want a TV show about his family to include a man who owned slaves.
Lopez and Affleck’s choice to have their wedding on a former slave plantation is sadly not uncommon. Other celebrities—like Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe in 1999 and Hailey and Justin Bieber in 2019—have tied the knot at locations with a similar background to Affleck’s.
