Millionaire invites homeless couple to live in his $4 million mansion for incredible reason

A homeless couple's lives changed when a millionaire from California welcomed them to his $4 million mansion. Back in 2019, Greg Dunston and Marie Mckinzie, who lived on Oakland’s streets for almost 10 years, were invited to live in one of the Bay Area’s most exclusive neighborhoods in Piedmont. The homeowner, Terrence McGrath, opened his doors in a mostly white, rich neighborhood, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. While it caused some inconveniences, the couple amazingly adjusted to the life of the rich. 

From streets to a mansion

McGrath is a divorced real estate developer and an empty nester. He told the SF Chronicle that he first read about the couple in the news column of the publication. He went to meet them at a cafe when they were camping in a "doorway" at the Alameda County Probation Office. 

McGrath told ABC News that Dunston, who is blind in one eye, and Mckinzie, who has a bone disease weren't bitter at all despite their living conditions and disabilities.

The real estate developer decided to help them. He had a mansion in the hilltop town of Piedmont in the East Bay.

"There was no thought, there was no judgment. I was just like 'this is done,'" McGrath recalled.

However, the couple wasn't sure if moving to a rich neighborhood like Piedmont was a good idea. But a friend of the couple, John Reimann, who sometimes helped them check in hotel rooms during harsh weather, nudged them to make the move. Reimann shared that he had asked McGrath why he was letting strangers off the street live with him.

McGrath told him that it helped him come close to his roots and take responsibility for the injustices around him. It was Reimann who first drove Mckinzie and Dunston to McGrath’s house for a tour. 

The UC Berkeley graduate and the founder of McGrath Properties offered the couple his in-law unit of the mansion, where his children grew up and other relatives had previously lived. The unit had a king-size bed, a bathroom, a stove, and a mini fridge. 

When the couple moved in, as a preventative measure, the homeowner reached out to Piedmont Chief of police, Jeremy Bowers, informing them of the development. While McGrath was aware that his efforts to fight homelessness were not a universal solution, he told ABC that he hoped that he would inspire others to not look away from the issue.

Irregular for the neighbors

As McGrath had suspected, Dunston and Mckinzie drew attention from the neighbors for all the wrong reasons. As they were seen in and around the property, neighbors often called 911 to report them, assuming they didn't live there. 

However, Bowers had already counseled his officers on how to respond to such calls, since he received the email from McGrath. “When people have called, we’ve not even responded. We’ve called them and said, ‘Oh no, those are the people that live in the house. (The homeowner’s) trying to help them,'" Bowers told the SF Chronicle.