Why did Brett Oppenheim leave the 'Selling Sunset'?

Posted by Arica Deslauriers on Sunday, May 19, 2024
 

Brett and Jason Oppenheim are twin brothers who initially led The Oppenheim Group, the high-end real estate company behind the Netflix-produced reality TV show “Selling Sunset.” Their real estate agents, many of whom are cast members, don’t receive salaries. Instead, their payments depend on commissions from selling luxury houses in the Southern California region of the USA, forcing them to work harder and smarter to get the highest sale price possible. The show aired six seasons between 2019 and 2023, and showed no signs of stopping; the seventh will soon start filming.

Moreover, the show keeps introducing new faces, such as Bre Tiesi, Nicole Young, Chelsea Lazkani and Emma Hernan. Simultaneously, they part ways with cast members whose goals change and whose passion runs dry, for instance, Christine Quinn, who left in the sixth season, and Vanessa Villela, a regular in the fourth and fifth seasons.

However, no one could have guessed that Brett Oppenheim, who started it all and appeared in related TV shows such as “Selling the OC,” would leave the company in 2020. After all, he sold homes in the ritziest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, San Diego, Newport Beach, and Cabo San Lucas. More surprisingly, he had no serious disagreements with his brother, and didn’t announce his exit. Thankfully, while he departed the company, Brett still appears in the TV show, albeit infrequently. Also, Jason and Brett are still on excellent terms behind the scenes. They seemingly only split on paper, so that they wouldn’t have to agree on every decision, allowing both to take more independent risks.

Brett left to be a lone company president

Anyone who saw at least a few of the show’s episodes knows how close the Oppenheim brothers are. Thus, they realize that Brett wouldn’t have left the company without discussing things with Jason. Although it’s unclear when that happened, viewers learned that Brett left The Oppenheim Group to start Oppenheim Real Estate in 2020, becoming its president and founder. However, he returned in the show’s sixth season, and should make a comeback in the seventh.

Moreover, both brothers still credit their grandfather, Jacob Stern, for creating the real estate empire in 1889. Despite Brett’s company being new, they call their companies ‘a family business’ on their respective websites. He kept the name Oppenheim for his enterprise without opposition from Jason although being his brother’s company’s direct competitor; that meant that they agreed on this business move.

Most importantly, none of the speculations that Brett would try to poach some employees and take old clients came true. Even if that was the case, Jason undoubtedly approved of it. In short, the brothers are thick as thieves, and still the wealthiest “Selling Sunset” cast members. However, they chose to diversify their portfolios while maintaining the leadership role.

Christina tried to start drama

Many fans need to remember that the statement about Brett’s departure from the company did not come from him or his brother. Christine Quinn, an author and former cast member who joined in the first season and left before the sixth aired, was the messenger. Jason didn’t go into detail about her departure, only stating that there was no place for her in the company at that time. Christine replied via her TikTok account, explaining that she wasn’t fired, but terminated her contract, and started a company.

With that said, she started the rumors when she told Glamour Magazine UK in August 2020, ‘Brett has left to start his brokerage. The girls are fed up with the favoritism of Mary in the office; we don’t know who will move where.’ She then tried to get the hype for the fourth season by saying, ‘This season will be the juiciest ever because it could be a battle of the brokerages.’ Her previous claim about being honest, even if it made viewers and colleagues dislike her, added to the credibility of her statement.

He wanted some independence

Unfortunately, hindsight showed us that the split between brothers was professional, not personal. Brett listed himself as the president and founder of Oppenheim Real Estate, however, he still credits their great-great-grandfather Jacob Stern with founding what became the family business. As mentioned, he continued selling luxury homes in the same area as his brother.

Jason’s response was brief and relaxed; he said that Christine wanted to fan the flames for the upcoming season, and exaggerated the split; his brother didn’t start a brokerage to take his agents or become a competitor, and that their companies work together. It’s important to note that they have a law degree, though Brett got his at UCLA while Jason studied law at UC Berkeley. They were successful lawyers before becoming real estate agents and multi-millionaires. Therefore, they may have split for undisclosed legal purposes, such as to get tax breaks, or to make paperwork easier to handle.

Whatever the cause, Brett became somewhat independent without competing with his brother, or losing his love, support, and financial backing from the family business. He also didn’t go too far from his brother, and has chosen 818 N Doneny Drive in West Hollywood, as the company’s headquarters. At the same time, The O Group has several offices, one of which is at 8604 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.

Brett is among the top-selling Los Angeles agents

Older net worth sources claim that Jason and Brett have a net worth of $50 million each. However, the wealth invested in all their businesses is undoubtedly much larger – Jason posts about all recent sales in the Properties section of his website, www.ogroup.com; thus, anyone can see how many houses they’ve sold and are selling, many of which are valued between $5 million and $35 million.

Brett’s profile on the www.realtor.com website shows that he has several listings ranging from $1 million to $20 million under his new company’s name, and has certainly sold some high-end homes since 2020. Moreover, the biography on his personal website, wwww.brettopenheim.com, shows that he’s worked in property development on $15 million homes in Santa Monica, and a $25 million residence in the Hollywood Hills since he started the brokerage.

Fans think that one of the reasons that Brett left is the commission. According to the company’s realtor associate, Maya Vander, the commission for a home sale was five percent in 2020. It’s then split between the buyer’s and seller’s representative, who may be the same realtor. Jason takes a cut on at least 2,5%, typically in a 70/30 split where he gets a 30% while the agent working for The Oppenheim Group walks home with 70%. Brett, a co-founder and his brother’s equal on paper, likely got a portion of that 30%. If that was the actual reason, leaving made much more sense, as Brett could take a more significant cut from personal projects, yet both brothers would grow their wealth from the stocks that they invested in each other’s companies.

Brett doesn’t live a tumultuous life

Brett is charismatic and hard-working but potentially doesn’t generate enough drama to justify more screen time in “Selling Sunset.” His relationships weren’t so public, and ended quietly and quickly. Fans know that he dated a fellow real estate agent and cast member, Tina Louise, but that they broke up after a year in 2021. Brett couldn’t find a bad word to say about her, even declaring that he would ‘always love her, be her friend, and be grateful for her love, laughter, and smile.’ While it’s heartwarming to see him be so happy, his move didn’t capture the attention of drama-hungry reality TV viewers.

Brett Oppenheim is spotted out in Beverly Hills with his new girlfriend, model, and tattoo artist, Samantha Abdul https://t.co/2wSojDSf0Q #BrettOppenheim #SellingSunset

— Monsters and Critics (@monstersandcrit) August 14, 2022

He then allegedly dated tattoo artist Samantha Abdul, starting in August 2022. She’s from Hamburg, Germany, and has a son from a previous relationship, which could have been interesting, but they broke up without much advertising. Most recently in January 2023, Brett was spotted on a night out at the Fleur Room Lounge in West Hollywood with an unnamed girl, but that relationship also lacked a public follow-up.

In contrast, Jason has several high-profile relationships with his subordinates, Nicole Young, Mary Fitzgerald, and Chrishell Stause, before moving on with Mary-Lou Nurk, a German model. His relationship with Chrishell was also heavily publicized. She wanted a family and felt her biological clock ticking, while Jason desired to focus on other things. Brett’s romantic life being low-key wouldn’t be so bad if he had more disagreements with the “Selling Sunset” co-stars, but he didn’t want to fake conflict.

He wanted to be a decision-maker

Ultimately, Brett started a company to shift the power dynamic. Jason and Brett have attained incredible success together, and Brett created Oppenheim Real Estate to make some decisions without consulting his brother. Some viewers forgot that Jason once said, ‘Working with my brother has its benefits for sure; I can trust him and am incredibly confident in his abilities. However, we are both a bit alpha, which can cause problems.’ He clarified that they tended to treat each other as brothers rather than professionals at times, which clouded their judgment on projects.

Brett also evidently wanted to spend more time off-camera, doing the job that he loves rather than participating in dramatic moments for views and ratings. Jason stated that nothing in the show was fake, but Christine claimed that the fifth season had ‘5,000 fake storylines.’ Though she inflated the number, she had a point. There was evidence of suspicious edits, such as when Jason opened his phone’s Camera app while allegedly on a heated business call. Additionally, alcoholic drinks and some of Christine’s hats tend to swap places or disappear in some scenes. Finally, in one scene of the fifth season’s third episode, the babies that she and her co-star Chelsea Lazkani bring to the beach disappear halfway through the allegedly orchestrated gossip session.

Brett may not return in the new season

Brett signed a contract with Netflix for the sixth, and presumably, the seventh season of “Selling Sunset.” However, he was barely present in the show this year, suggesting that his focus was elsewhere. In truth, he may have been present more often, but the show’s editors didn’t find his interactions interesting enough. Only one of his on-screen appearances was memorable, taking Emma Hernan’s side in front of Jason when she blamed her boss for taking a three-week vacation during a tough time in the office.

Although their conflict was brief, viewers noticed how enjoyable their bickering was, and many went to Twitter to ask for more scenes involving the brothers. Whether that happens is unclear, but Brett and Jason are still as close as ever. Most recently, they celebrated their 46th birthday together which they call Sibling Day, on 12 April on a trip to Paris.

ncG1vNJzZmiamaS0s63PobCpnZSerm%2B70aBmsKCpYrGqsIybqZ6spGK8sbzEp5%2BeoZ1iuaat1Z5kraCVYsCmuMuipaBlo6q7tLHTaA%3D%3D