A sprawling real estate portfolio has become a staple for the ultra-rich and the price tag fitting for a billionaire’s home goes all the way to US$1 billion. Here are five of the most extravagant homes that offer privacy, luxury and personalisation in a way no ordinary home could:
Buckingham Palace (United Kingdom)
Buckingham Palace is at the top of the property ladder, valued conservatively at £1 billion (roughly US$1.2 billion). According to the official palace website, it has a total of 775 rooms comprised of 52 bedrooms, 19 state rooms, 188 staff rooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. The queen does not privately own Buckingham Palace but rather the property is held in trust by the Crown Estates.
Maintaining the royal property comes with an astronomical cost. In 2017, Buckingham Palace started its 10-year refurbishment to the tune of US$458 million, reported CNN.
Antilia (India)
Luxury homes do not even come close to Antilia, the US$2 billion private home of business magnate Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries. The high-end mansion is located in one of the world’s most expensive addresses – Altamount Road in South Mumbai.
Architectural Digest India reported Antilia was designed by Chicago-based architects Perkins and Will and Australian construction company Leighton Holdings handled construction. Antilia can withstand an earthquake of 8 on the Richter scale.
Villa Leopolda (France)
This 50-acre estate with more than 29,000 square feet of living space was named after the Belgian King Leopold II and is considered to be the largest and most expensive French villa in the world, reserved for the price of US$750 million in 2008. Villa Leopolda was also featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 film, To Catch a Thief.
It is currently owned by Lily Safra, a Brazilian philanthropist and widow of Lebanese banker William Safra.
Villa Les Cèdres (France)
Last year, the historic Villa Les Cèdres was bought by Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Ahkmetov for US$221 million from Italian beverage company Campari, according to Business Insider.
Built in 1830, the 18,000-square-foot property sits along the coast of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France’s so-called Peninsula of Billionaires.
Four Fairfield Pond (United States)
Four Fairfield Pond in the Hamptons in New York State, owned by industrial mogul Ira Rennert, is one of the largest homes in the United States. The 63-acre home is worth US$248 million, according to Business Insider, and would cost US$500 million today. It reportedly has 29 bedrooms and 39 bathrooms and is complete with amenities to suit its size: a basketball court, bowling alley, tennis courts, swimming pools, plus a power plant to boot.
Note: This story was originally published on SCMP and has been republished on this website.
