We all love nosing around beautiful properties, mansions and palaces, it’s in our nature to want to find out more about their history and the people that live there.
Several grand homes across the World have crossed the six and seven-figure mark and have become as famous as the people that live in them, including kings, queens, celebrities, and billionaires. These extravagant houses and lavish accommodations offer every kind of luxury you can think of making them worthy of the hefty sum to their buyers.
We take a look at 5 of the most expensive mansions across the globe.
Odeon Tower Penthouse
Located in Monaco, the title for the World’s most expensive apartment will soon belong to the penthouse at the top of the new Odeon Tower. It’s price tag, when it goes on sale later on in the year will be around a whopping $400 million!
With 35,000 square feet across five stories, The Guardian have described it as “the size of two and a half tennis courts!” A remarkable property to behold, with floor to ceiling windows providing spectacular views across the city and the bay. It will feature a grand master bedroom, a cinema room, space to accommodate an expansive games room where you can play casino online if you don’t fancy going out to any of Monaco’s famous casinos, plus a spa including sauna and a gym. But perhaps its most distinctive feature will be the open-air pool and curved, two-story waterslide notched into the building’s upper floors!
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace is worth $1.55 billion and it’s certainly not going to be coming on the market any time soon. Queen Elizabeth II lives there and part of the price tag is due to the London location and the fact that it is the palace’s own royal provenance. The real estate in London is some of the most expensive in the world and this particular building is to be marveled at to say the least. Buckingham Palace has over 775 rooms including 19 staterooms and 52 bedrooms to accommodate the royals and their guests, with 188 of the rooms allocated to the staff and 92 of the rooms taken up by offices. On top of that, there is also a music room and a state dining room. The ballroom is a fairly recent addition to the palace having been built by Queen Victoria in an attempt to celebrate the end of the Crimean War.
Antilia
Located in Mumbai, India – it is thought that this is likely to be the world’s priciest private residence, valued at $1 billion! Completed in 2010, Antilia is a 400,000-square-foot 27-story mansion but at 570 feet in height, it is the equivalent of a 50- to 60-story building, with an offbeat shape characterized by the New York Times as “a Blade Runner-meets-Babylon edifice.”
Named after a mythical island in the Atlantic Ocean, it is owned by Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries and reportedly the richest person in India. It’s amenities include three helipads, a 50-seat movie theatre and six floors of parking space that can accommodate 168 cars.
Villa Leopolda
Villa Leopolda is a peaceful and isolated villa in Villefranche-sur-Mer, on the French Riviera. Situated a few kilometers away from Nice, this 18 acres villa has 12 pools throughout the estate, 19 master bedroom suites and 14 bathrooms. All of these rooms are decorated accordingly, with authentic and sophisticated luxury pieces, that were meant to be displayed at Villa Leopolda. The property comes in at $750 million and its name comes from King Leopold of Belgium, he acquired the property in the 1890s and since then it has had various owners. It even served as a military hospital during WW1 and it appeared in the ballet known as the Red Shoes. Today, it is owned by Lily Safra who is a philanthropist and the widow to Edmond Safra.
Witanhurst
Currently under renovation, Witanhurst, when it is finished is going to be the second biggest mansion in London and will be worth over $450 million. The original estate, dating from 1774, was known as Parkfield. The current house was built in the twentieth century and was designed by architect George Hubbard for soap magnate Sir Author Crosfield on an 11-acre site. The mansion has 65 rooms across three floors and includes 25 bedrooms, a ballroom, drawing room, study, dining room, Chinese room and billiard room. The new owners have added a second villa with 40,000 feet of basement space too. Witanhurst has been used on several occasions as a filming location by various production companies including the BBC to shoot films and television programs such as The Lost Prince, Tipping the Velvet and Fame Academy.
