Ryan Seacrest has dropped $49 million on Ellen DeGeneres' Beverly Hills pad.

The American Idol host's new estate sits on 2.87 acres and boasts a 9,200 square-foot main house and three guest houses. Perhaps one's for girlfriend Julianne Hough.

Ellen initially bought the house for $29 million. Nice way to spend your $45 million a year, Seacrest!

Ryan Seacrest is an amazing host ... a practical joker!

During last night's American Idol taping, Seacrest walks over to his girlfriend Julianne Hough in the audience and says:

"Julianne would you take the mic for a second. There's something that's been on my mind for a while."

After reaching into his pocket for what we thought was going to be an engagement ring, Ryan says to Julianne:

"No, it's not that. It's a question I've been meaning to ask you and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. Will you...give this note I wrote to Tom Cruise? I'm such a big fan -- I loved him in Cocktail."

Julianne's reaction ... "Oh, God." What a tease!

After signing his new two-year deals with NBC and American Idol, Hollywood's hardest working man is looking for a new place to rest his head.

Ryan Seacrest is looking to sell and sell fast as he has lowered the asking price to his Hollywood Hills estate from $14.9 million to $11.9 million.

The six-bedroom mansion, which he dubbed 'Casa di Pace' (House of Peace), sits on nearly an acre of land atop Nicholas Canyon and boasts 6.5 bathrooms, a screening room, peaceful gardens, detached garage, pool, spa, championship tennis court, library, billiards room, bar, and a wine cellar.

Seacrest originally bought the property from Oscar winning actor Kevin Costner in 2006 for $11.5 million.

Last night Ryan Seacrest dined at Mezze with his latest crop of reality television stars, the cast of The Shahs of Sunset, and while he's done genius work with the Kardashians, we're not so sure about this group!

While Ryan made a quick exit from the restaurant, Golnesa "GG" Gharachedaghi, Mercedes "MJ" Javid, Asa Soltan Rahmati, Mike Shouhed, Reza Farahan and Sammy Younai all stuck around to pose for photos, and they even chatted about what it's like to be compared to reality TV's first family. Hey, they've gotta hustle!

Later Ryan tweeted, "Watching #shahs with the cast in LA...they just pulled me onto the dance floor during a commercial! Learned some moves cc: @juliannehough". Well, he certainly seems to believe in them, and he's made a fortune producing reality TV, so maybe he's onto something!

Last night Ryan Seacrest and girlfriend Julianne Hough dined at Italian eatery Mercato Di Vetro, and the couple were all smiles as they left the WeHo hotspot. Everyone from Marilyn Manson to Paris Hilton has paid a visit to the restaurant since it opened last month, so clearly this is the place to go to have your picture taken for a delicious meal!

Ryan will be spending some quality time with another blonde in the months to come, as it was reported the other day that he will co-produce his first film with Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon. Is there anything he can't do!?

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ryan Seacrest -- who is plenty familiar with reality TV -- defends Bravo in the wake of Russell Armstrong's suicide.

The network has come under fire with some blaming the show as part of the reason Russell hanged himself. Russell, the husband of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Taylor Armstrong, was found Monday night. Seacrest says:

"In terms of the psychological analysis, for the competition shows they do quite a lot of that in terms of the background checking ... it's just one of those unfortunate situations."

Seacrest is the executive producer of Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Food Revolution.

Ryan Seacrest has already proved that any TV show he puts his hands on turns to gold ... and now the media mogul is expanding his empire!

The American Idol host, who is teaming up with Bravo, is producing a new series tentatively called Shahs of Sunset ... focusing on Persian-American 20-somethings who are living opulent lives. Think Jersey Shore, but swap Italians for Persians.

As for what the show will be about, Seacrest says:

"The series will offer rich characters and relatable storylines about everyday life -- love, work, friendship and family -- steeped in a diverse culture, which is wildly entertaining and fun.”

Sounds like a blast! Read what Bravo executive vice president Andy Cohen said about teaming up with Seacrest ... after the jump.

What better way to celebrate Father's Day than to give pops a ride in your Aston Martin. Ryan Seacrest gave dad a spin around Hollywood in his luxury car. Lookin' good, Ry!

The American Idol host tweeted:

"Dad, you're someone to look up to no matter how tall I've grown."

Ryan's parents were visiting from Atlanta, and the KIIS-FM host made sure they were taken care of during their stay. We're told Mr. Seacrest took his mom and dad to Bouchon in Beverly Hills.

See more of Ryan and his fancy ride ... after the jump.