Barbra Streisand’s Film Company Paid Her Gardener After Gaining $200,000 from 'Small Business' Pandemic Relief: Report
Jan. 13 2024, Published 11:30 a.m. ET
Two-time Academy Award winner Barbra Streisand’s film company, Barwood Films Ltd., paid the groundskeeper at the actress's $20 million mansion after gaining $200,000 in PPP money intended to help small businesses make payroll, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The multimillionaire’s production company reportedly received loans from the Paycheck Protection Program in 2020 and 2021 before having them written off by the federal government.
Streisand has achieved prized EGOT status.
A groundskeeper responsible for the gardens at Streisand's $20 million Malibu clifftop home was paid through Barwood Films in 2020 and 2021 as a registered "executive support" employee.
A spokesperson for the Funny Girl actress claimed the gardener had not been paid with taxpayer funds. However, according to the New York Post, the groundskeeper was employed by Streisand's production company when it took public money to make payroll.
Streisand's production company reportedly paid her gardener using relief funds.
According to Forbes, the 81-year-old actress is estimated to be worth around $430 million and even owns her own replica antique shopping mall in the basement of her Malibu home. The eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom mansion is valued at $20 million, and her gardens have been called “an idyllic oasis” by some outlets.
In 2020, Streisand’s production company qualified as a “small business” for the taxpayer-funded assistance put in place to prevent mass unemployment and to help small businesses stay afloat.
On April 7 of the same year, four days after the Small Business Administration opened applications for loans for the program, the actress's production company was approved for $103,662, which it said was meant to keep six workers employed.
Soon after the application was filed, Streisand tweeted her frustration with then-President Donald Trump for his handling of the COVID crisis, claiming that the money he had spent on a border wall should have been spent on “testing, ventilators and personal protective equipment for our health care professionals.”
Sources said Streisand is 'done' after working since she was 21-years-old.
Barwood Films netted $209,069 from the taxpayer-funded bailout. According to the application process, PPP recipients were allowed to spend up to 40% of the relief money on utilities, essential purchases, protective equipment and rent.
Almost all PPP loans have been forgiven. Out of $793 billion issued, the SBA has written off $762 billion.
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As RadarOnline.com has learned, Streisand plans to retire soon after she receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild Awards next month.
"Following this farewell moment, Barbara will retreat to her Malibu sanctuary, shielded from the prying eyes of the world," a friend of hers told the National Enquirer.
"As a person who has been in the spotlight since she was 21, she figures enough is enough," the insider added. "She's done!"
