When the building of a mansion rivals that of a commercial project, the skills and talents of experienced home builders and architects are that much more valuable. Not since the Gilded Age/Progressive Era of the Robber Barons have so many millionaires been created by an economy, and subsequently built megahomes reflect their glory.

Microsoft mogul Bill Gates has built what has been described as the world's most expensive new residence. The 40,000- square-foot mansion is situated on five acres on Lake Washington, outside of Seattle. Valued at close to $50 million, the home was in construction for more than seven years. Gates, the richest man in America, with a fortune estimated at about $38 billion, has built a unique home. Complete with a manmade trout stream, the high-tech home includes a number of electronic innovations, including heated marble flooring, a 60-foot pool, a sauna, a 1,700-square-foot guest house, a trampoline room, a 20-seat theater, an arcade, a 24-screen video wall, a sport court, a dock for water-skiing, two spas, and a reception hall for 100 people.

In Orlando, Fla., the home of Bettie Siegel, ex-wife of timeshare baron David Siegel, reportedly cost more than $40 million. Annual property taxes alone are $175,000. Known as Palazzo del Lago (Palace on the Lake), the Lake Butler home includes 13 bathrooms, six bedrooms, a boat dock, a swimming pool, and an elevator, as well as a 2,436-square-foot guest house. Lavish homes such as Siegels' are designed to offer spectacular views from all sides.

Examples of megaspending are available from coast to coast, as the new rich build their residential monuments. According to Clark French, broker/owner of Luxury Home Mortgage International, "Wealth is being created at the fastest rate in history, and the money has to go somewhere."

But what is driving the need for such massive, office building-sized homes? One architect offers this insight: "Many people building these homes entertain a large number of people on an international scale," says Bob Miller, owner of R. Miller Architects in Maitland. "In a way, they need a house this big. These people have corporate leaders over from Brazil, from France. They just have a bigger idea of what it is to have a house and to entertain."

These homes sometimes present building problems and have spawned a specialty within the new home community: builders and architects who specialize in megamansions. Among some of the concerns are load-bearing walls, foundations, and roofs, which can be many times the cost of a normal installation. If a roof is made of slate, it will require a massive roof structure, costing as much as 12 to 15 times that of an ordinary roof. Standard joists must be replaced by steel I-beams for living spaces over 14 feet. Insulation materials must be thicker to ensure adequate insulation in much-harder-to-heat large rooms. Luxury builders also wrap plumbing to deaden sounds, important in a home with double-digit bathrooms, multiple wet bars, and as many as two working kitchens.

One-of-a-kind amenities call for special engineering and architectural skills. Among many amenities favored by the megarich are such features as underground garages, cave-like swimming pools with waterfalls, movie theaters, commercial quality kitchens, elevators, and elaborate security systems.

"This is the same architecture used for museums and castles," says St. Louis home-builder Les Grotpeter during an interview in Orlando. "These beautiful houses bring back the 1920s with their millwork and stone." Grotpeter's clients' homes take as long as three years to build.

Cole Smith, the Dallas-based architect who recently completed a massive renovation on Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' home, says: "Some want a home for show, and others want an enclave where they can feel safe and retreat. When I was in Europe studying with the Parsons School of Design, it was pointed out to me that the glorious homes there always had an opening to the street. This was a way to enhance civic involvement and pride. Now, our mansions are not part of the city; they are hidden behind walls. So they really aren't a part of the fabric of the community. And that's too bad."

Philanthropists such as Jones often open their homes to causes, knowing that the curiosity of people who want to see inside will help the cause. During a recent fund-raiser for Southern Methodist University held at the Jones mansion, tables went for $15,000 apiece. For people who want to share their homes, making room for traffic, parking, tents, etc. is part of the overall planning, Smith says.

For all of these reasons, experienced architects warn against enlarging normal-sized house designs to scale to a mansion. The logistics involved are akin to overseeing a huge commercial project that has the finish-out of "artwork," according to one architect. The uniqueness of these homes and their owners is a prerequisite of the design, according to Smith.

He adds, "What it comes down to is how the owners want to use the home."

Published: April 2, 1998

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.