Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
For most people, buying a home is the single-biggest purchase that they are ever likely to make. But that isn’t the case for everyone of course. For some, buying a home is more of a chance to indulge and show off their extravagance in a way no one else can – as we’ll see when we take a closer look at the top three most expensive homes in the world.
The Antilla residence, Mumbai. Image courtesy Christopher Macsurak via Flickr.com
The most expensive home in the world isn’t in New York, Los Angeles or London. It’s not even in Monaco, Paris or some other chic European hangout. Nope, the most expensive home in the world, Antilla, is located in Mumbai, India. According to reports, the home of Mukesh and Nita Ambani is worth a reputed $1-2 billion, depending on who you listen to. At 27-storeys high and with more than 40,000 square feet of living space, as well as a six-storey car park, three helipads, a swimming pool, a cinema and even a health center (!), it’s easy to see why that’s the case.
The interior of the home is as plush as can be, emphasizing the extravagant wealth of the Ambani’s (Mukesh was listed as fifth richest man in the world). With double height ceilings, crystal chandelier, several ballrooms and 600 servants on hand, no home in the world can compare with the humble Antilla.
The Villa Leopolda. Image courtesy Miniwark via Wikimedia Commons
A good deal older, but no less extravagant, the Villa Leopolda ranks in at second place on the expensive home list, worth a reputed $525 million. Built by Belgium’s King Leopold II in 1902, this 80,000 sq. ft. villa estate boasts of a total 19 bedroooms, multiple dining rooms and ballrooms, several tennis/squash/badminton courts, swimming pools, a movie theatre and lavish gardens that are maintained by an army of 50 gardeners.
Besides the luxury, there is also an air of mystery surrounding the history of Villa Leopolda. Multiple rumors abound of who has and who hasn’t lived there at one time or another. Bill Gates is the most prominent name said to have owned the villa at one time or another, while the industrialist Gianni Agnelli was also said to have lived there for a time.
Currently though, there is but one person resident in the Villa Leopolda – the widow Lily Safra, wife of the late French banker Edmond Safra.
Entrance to The Penthouse at One Hyde Park
Third place on the list may come as a bit of a surprise, for The Penthouse in London is not a home in the regular sense – it’s a flat. But it’s a very expensive flat at that.
Valued at some $200 million and located in London’s fashionable Hyde Park area, The Penthouse is still looking for its first resident. The property combines fabulous luxury with super-sophisticated security systems that make the place fit for a king. With SAS guards keeping watch, bullet proof windows, secret tunnels and iris scanners, it’d be hard to find a more “burglar-proof” home than this!
Not only is safety top notch, the service is pretty damn good as well. Sitting atop a collection of some 82 luxury apartments at Number One Hyde Park, future residents of the Penthouse will have access to communal spas, wine tasting rooms, tennis and squash courts, and numerous other super facilities.
