20 Things You Didn’t Know about Josh Flagg

Joshua “Josh” Daniel Flagg is a television personality on the show Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, which airs on Bravo Television Network. He is a highly successful real estate broker who sells high-end homes. His work in the Platinum Triangle area of Los Angeles has brought him business success and fame. He was one of Forbe’s 30 Under 30 in 2012 for his record breaking profits in real estate transactions. So far, he is credited with selling over $1 billion worth of real estate.

Flagg was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He attended the private Brentwood School and the attended Beverly Hills High School until he graduated. His parents are Michael Flagg and Cindy Platt Flagg. His maternal grandfather was the Jewish leader and philanthropist Herman Platt. His paternal grandmother was Edith Flagg, who is known to be a leader in importing and using polyester fabric in United States fashion designs. Flagg is a supporter of Jewish and gay charities, and avid traveler.

Here are 20 things you might not know about Josh:

Josh had an underground eating adventure.

He went with Liza deGuia and Russell Jackson on the Bravotv.com digital show Going Off the Menu, whose job it is to show their series guests the underground side of eating. On the episode Top of the Food Chain, Josh’s enormous repertoire of food experiences challenged the hosts to do some hard work. Josh is used to eating in the best restaurants all the time, and he knows the food scene well.

They began at Q Sushi to treat him to the special chef’s super premium sushi menu. The restaurant specializes in one bite sushi. Josh had yellowtail, skipjack tuna, kegani crab, and toro. He loved the food, had never been there, and thought the sushi was phenomenal.

During the sushi meal, Liza and Russell asked him about dinner ideas, to figure out what he had done and hadn’t. Josh turned down their first three dining ideas. He didn’t like the idea of bison or gamey foods, had been to one other place, and didn’t want to drink at the third. But he was intrigued by The Roulette Society, where the guest list and the menu are curated. Guests only come once. Josh was pre-interviewed by a society interviewer who invited them to come to dinner that night.

The Roulette Society specializes in curating meals and guests for a once a month meal with people who have never been in the same room together at the same time. Josh loved the idea. Before the trio went to the secret meal location, they stopped at Helen’s Wines, hidden in the back of John and Vinny’s to buy a bottle of meal to take as a gift for the social experimental meal. They arrived at 5:30 for the secret meal on the top of an apartment penthouse.

The meal included several courses, including a 62 degree egg with chanterelles and truffles, fresh baked bread, creamy burrata with fresh uni and quinoa, and miso glazed black cod…which was Josh’s favorite.

During the meal, Josh told guests that he is probably the softest human being they would ever meet.

He developed Star Maps by Josh Flagg

Josh knows the Platinum Triangle: Beverly Hills, Holmby Hills, and Bel Aire very, very well. Inspired by the most popular business in Hollywood… the maps to the star’s homes which are sold on street corners all around the area… he decided to create an iPhone app which would do the job better. His app updates so quickly that it is almost in real time as real estate transactions occur. The app tells all about the star homes without the lag time that is problematic with the paper map versions sold on the streets. Star properties, with photos, accurate addresses, square footage, who used to live there, who owns it now and anything on public record is include. Nothing private is ever disclosed. The new app promises to become the biggest thing in what is already one of the biggest industries in Hollywood.

He estimated the real estate value of the White House.

TMZ asked him what he thought the White House was worth. The cast shouted out Zillow’s current value of $388 million… some said it had to be worth more than that… because other famous properties certainly are. Josh quickly responded with $10 billion. He reminded the cast that it’s not possible to value the White House on the building or the land value alone. Experienced real estate professional answer.

His closet can’t live without Stubbs & Wootton shoes.

He has what is described as a lavish collection of Stubbs $ Wootton slippers, and he’s known on set as one of The Slipper Kings, along with Michael Lorber. His shoe allowance is about $20,000 annually. His wardrobe allowance is unlimited. He has his suits made at his home by suit maker JR Custom. His favorite brands are Brioni, Dior Hommes, Gucci, TSE, and Missoni. He feels that the great boutiques are all gone; with the only good boutique store that once was in Los Angeles was called Fred Hayman, which no longer exists. He also enjoys buying much of his clothing while he is traveling. When buying clothing in Los Angeles, he most often shops at Barneys. He has to have white collared shirts and Saint Laurent leather, too.

He likes to live in hotels because his dream house doesn’t exist.

He sold the house he owned on Sunset Strip, and then bought a “really cool” estate in Beverly Hills. He thinks he may want to tear the estate down and build a new house in Hampton style. He’s just not sure yet whether or not he really wants to build. His current living space is the Four Seasons Beverly Hills.

He believes everyone should have a passion in life.

He has three passions in his life: pricey cars, collecting art, and living in hotels. His favorite car in his collections is his convertible 1960 Silver Cloud II Rolls Royce. He notes that only 75 of these now exist in the world.

Josh was awarded The Next Generation Award in 2012 by the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust.

His grandmother gave him her memories of the holocaust, which brought him wisdom and maturity beyond his chronological years. The Jewish community believes that his name indicates that his is the flag bearer for the future, and is derived from the strong, historic Joshua. His experiences with his family relationships are said to give him experiences which will better the Jewish community.

Josh’s grandma Edith shaped his character with humor and wisdom.

His grandma Edith became a favorite character on the show before she died at the age of 94. Josh’s favorite show scene with her was her speech about the woman with “her tits out”. She went on to expound about “good body, very interesting; fat body not so good”. Josh referred to her as a “force of nature”. He teared when he remembered her story, just after her death. She had escaped the Nazis. She actually killed two Nazis by shooting them in the head. She came to America with $5. She found washable wool women’s panties, discovered that the fabric came from England, bought all that was available, and made wash and wear items which brought her financial success. Josh traveled with her to 50 or 50 countries, and viewed his time with her as an amazing journey.

Josh was arrested for allegedly stealing high priced artworks.

Josh was accused of stealing works by Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall in the estates he was handling. He was released on bail of $100,000. Due to insufficient evidence, the charges were eventually dropped.  There haven’t been any incidents since then.

Josh dislikes co-star Josh Altman…immensely.

It’s no news that the two co-stars don’t get along. Their intense squabbles on the show are part of why people watch it. But, Josh, when interviewed gave out the specifics of why his dislike is more than just intense. He said that Altman poaches listings from him even when there are plenty of them for everyone to have their own. He’s not willing to work with Altman unless a real estate deal actually requires that they meet to do so. He views their relationship as that with no substance of any kind. He thinks that Altman isn’t honest…actually “a scumbag.”

Josh mentored real estate agents through his Josh Flagg Millionaire Agent program.

Josh set up a mentoring program providing mentoring with real estate agents who applied to work with the million-dollar agent. He advertised that he would use his skills as a top broker anywhere in the world. He stated that anyone could implement the tools they need to reach the top 5% producing level using the information he would share with those selected to participate in his program.

Josh was one of the Grand Marshalls at the Long Beach Pride Parade 2012.

He rode next to partner Colton Thorne in a car following a rainbow flag carrying drill team unit. Following the drill team was the Flaggers Central banner. The white, open convertible, Grand Marshall car was announced by a team of two carrying the bright blue Grand Marshall banner. Flagg and Thorne, seated on the back deck of the open car, waved to the crowds lining the Long Beach street as the parade passed by.

Josh has unique, expensive collectibles and lots of snack food.

Before he sold his fabulous Sunset Strip home, he gave a tour of the interior. He showed the viewers his grandmother’s mid-century modern chair, two horse statues each thousands of years old from Hong Kong and probably “worth more than the house”; coffee table books, an original telegram from the Titanic the night when it sank, a Louis Vitton vintage trunk; candy, Oreos, Kit Kats in glass containers; and chocolate covered banana chips. Josh also explored the contents of his fridge, which yielded Chinese food, left over Indian food, small sodas and drinks.

Josh wrote A Simple Girl: Stories My Grandmother Told Me

The book tells the story of the amazing life of Josh’s grandma Edith Flagg, who was born in Romania, went to fashion school in Vienna and then left when Hitler marched into Austria. She fled to Holland and became a member of the Dutch Underground which fought against the Nazis. She became a fashion industry icon after immigrating to Palestine and then America, and finally California where she built a clothing company that was a multi-million-dollar enterprise. The book benefited a Jewish charity.

Josh’s favorite foreign country is France.

He has a passion for travel bred from his time spent traveling with his grandma Edith. Paris was just one of the glamour and exciting cities he has visited. During his travels, he collected many eclectic items. His best souvenir included a bed belonging to Napoleon.

Josh’s dog Godzilla is a registered service dog.

Josh and his partner Colton had Godzilla registered to be a service dog so that she would be easier to take into hotels and on airplanes. She is a pretty, blue merle cocker spaniel. When the three of them spent time at the Montage Beverly Hills, the hotel had left three pillows on the bed. The first had a letter J for Josh, the second had a letter C for Colton, and the third had a letter G for Godzilla.

Josh went stargazing in Hawaii.

In the summer, Joshua went to Hawaii for three weeks. He stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Maui. He remembered that he had done some stargazing there as a youngster and phoned the hotel to ask if it was still something possible. They said that it is actually a 25-year program begun by the original hotel owner who was an amateur astronomer. The Hyatt has three guest telescopes just for guests, and an astronomer to help out. Josh took the Tour of the Stars there, viewing stars from the roof of the hotel on its heli-pad.

Josh swam with dolphins in a natural lagoon.

At the Kahala Hotel in Waikiki, Josh participated in the Dolphin Quest program. The lagoon there is filled with dolphins. Participants can play with, feed and swim with them. The hotel is a mid-century structure which has been completely refurbished but still retains the vibe of old time Hawaii in the 1950s.

Josh gave his vote for number one pool in Italy to The Cipriani Hotel in Venice.

His grandfather used to swim there. It was his favorite pool, too. It is a heated pool surrounded by chaise lounges and white umbrellas. The pool side cuisine is world famous. The hotel is set on an island just across from San Marcos Piazza. A private boat takes guests across the grand canal to get to the hotel. It’s just five minutes ride to relax at this classic spot.

Josh spent the night in five New York hotels in seven days.

He truly adores staying in hotels, and he didn’t want to miss the chance to try out the five he binged on that trip. He admits to a personal obsession with hotels. He once blogged that he feels as if he hasn’t lived if he doesn’t try “every single hotel”.