Since the rich are only getting richer — and they’ve got the real estate to prove it—, for the world’s super-wealthy people, the price tag for an appropriate home goes all the way to $1 billion. And to The Most Expensive Homes‘ editors, there is nothing quite like spending a few hours investigating the wealthy real estate market, wondering which are the most expensive houses across the Globe.
Location: London
Value: $1.55 billion
About the Property: The Buckingham Palace was built in 1703, for the Duke of Buckingham, King George the Third acquired the property for his wife, and it was known as the Queen’s house for a time. It was expanded upon in the 1800s and became the official London home of the reigning monarch on the ascension of Queen Victoria to the throne. Currently valued at $1.55 billion, the Palace contained more than 700 rooms.
Owner: The British Sovereign—Currently Queen Elizabeth II, who has ruled since February 6, 1952.
Location: Mumbai, India
Value: $1 billion
About the Property: It is valued at a full $1 billion, the Antilia is a personal skyscraper in Mumbai. It is 27 stories high, with a further six floors in the basement, and is owned by the richest man in India, Mukesh Ambani. The top section looks more lived in and the stylized design of the building is very attractive to me personally.
Owner: Mukesh Ambani—India’s richest man, with a net worth of $23.6 billion, according to Forbes. Ambani made his money running Reliance Industries, an energy, and materials company.
Location: Cote D’Azure, France
Value: $750 million
About the Property: Built over King Leopold the Seconds villa in the late twenties, the Villa La Leopolda has an outdoor kitchen, a guest house as large as many mansions and was even featured in a Hitchcock flick.
Owner: Lily Safra—A Brazilian philanthropist and widow of Lebanese banker William Safra. Her husband died when another one of the couple’s homes burned down, apparently due to arson.
Location: Sagaponack, New York
Value: $248.5 million
About the Property: The Four Fairfield Pond is huge, 63 acres or thereabouts, and is host to its own power plant, 29 bedrooms, and enough bathrooms to take a leak in a different one every day for more than a month. The compound is owned by billionaire Ira Rennert, of the Renco Group.
Owner: Ira Rennert—Owner the Renco Group, a holding company with investments in auto manufacturing and smelting. He also has holdings in metals and mining.
Location: London
Value: $222 million
About the Property: The Kensington Palace Gardens is spread over two properties, counted as one home, and is very close to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s house. The luxury property is valued at $222 million.
Owner: Lakshmi Mittal—The head of Arcelor Mittal, the world’s largest steel manufacturer, and, according to Forbes, one of the 100 richest men in India.
Location: Woodside, California
Value: $200 million
About the Property: The Ellison Estate is comprised of around ten buildings, but the property is counted as one home. Currently valued at $200 million, it’s owned by Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, the world’s second-largest software developer on the planet, after Microsoft.
Owner: Larry Ellison—Co-founder of Oracle and the third-richest man in the world in 2013, according to Forbes.
Location: San Simeon, California
Value: $191 million
About the Property: The Hearst Castle was built for Newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst. Currently, the historical landmark property is worth an estimated $191 Million.
Owners: William Randolph Hearst’s trustees—The castle, built by the country’s first newspaper magnate, is now a heritage and tourist site and part of the California Park System.
Location: Big Sky, Montana
Value: $155 million
About the Property: The Seven the Pinnacle is in the heart of the mountains, currently valued very highly, at $155 million. A private ski rest and cabin, The Pinnacle was owned by former lumber baron Tim Blixseth, co-founder of the now-defunct Yellowstone Club.
Owners: Edra and Tim Blixseth—Real estate developer and timber baron Tim Blixseth cofounded the Yellowstone Club, but the club’s bankruptcy, a divorce, and other troubles have seriously reduced his wealth in recent years.
Location: London
Value: $140 million
About the Property: The Kensington Palace is owned by Roman Abramovich — also the owner of Chelsea football club and the director of investment firm Millhouse LLC. This luxury real estate is in the process of having a basement extension added, very popular with the mega-rich in London these days, and there are plans to add a Health Center, a car showroom, and a tennis court.
Owner: Roman Abramovich—a Russian billionaire and owner of the private investment firm Millhouse LLC. He’s probably best known in the West as the owner of the English Premier League’s Chelsea Football Club.
Location: London
Value: $128 million
About the House: This lavish mansion in London owns 10 rooms and the interior is lavishly decorated in gold and marble. Under the surface are a gym, a pool, a cinema and a panic room.
Owner: It is owned by the former Ukraine president’s daughter, Olena Pinchuk. She is the founder of AntiAids foundation, a private charity firm focused on ridding Ukraine of AIDS.
Source: time.com
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