Did you know about the 10 most expensive houses in the world? In this article, we look at some of the most costly and extravagant houses in the world, ranging from mansions with marble floors to villas with gold trim.
The world is brimming with luxury and grandeur, which includes opulent mansions, multimillion-dollar automobiles, and insanely expensive private planes. And although money can’t buy you happiness, it can certainly buy you some pretty spectacular homes, which will undoubtedly provide some pleasure in their own right.
List of the Most Expensive Houses in the World
1. Buckingham Palace – $2.9 Billion
3. Villa Leopolda – $750 Million
4. Villa Les Cèdres – $450 Million
5. Les Palais Bulles – $390 Million
6. The Odeon Tower Penthouse – $335 Million
7. Four Fairfield Pond – $248 Million
8. One Hyde Park Penthouse, $247M
9. Ellison Estate – $200 Million
10. Palazzo di Amore – $195 Million
11. 18-19 Kensington Gardens –$128 Million
Details of the Most Expensive House in the World
1. Buckingham Palace – $2.9 Billion
Buckingham Palace is the royal home and administrative headquarters of the queen of the United Kingdom, located in the London borough of Kensington. The palace, which is located in the City of Westminster, is often the focal point of state events and royal hospitality. In times of national celebration as well as sorrow, it has served as a focal point for the British people. Buckingham Palace is the most expensive house in the world.
In its original form, Buckingham House was a magnificent townhouse constructed for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on land that had been in private hands for at least 150 years before that. It is currently known as the Royal Palace and is the heart of the palace complex.
The Queen’s House was built by King George III in 1761 as a private home for Queen Charlotte, and it became recognized as such after that time. The construction of three wings surrounding a central courtyard was completed by architects John Nash and Edward Blore in the nineteenth century, who were responsible for the majority of the expansion.
With the ascension of Queen Victoria to the throne in 1837, Buckingham Palace was designated as the official home of the British queen in London.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, significant structural extensions were added to the building, notably the East Front, which includes the well-known balcony on which the British royal family usually congregates to welcome audiences.
During World War II, a German bomb demolished the palace chapel; the Queen’s Gallery, which was constructed on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to display pieces of art from the Royal Collection, replaced it.
On the suggestion of Sir Charles Long, the original early nineteenth-century interior designs, many of which have survived, made extensive use of brilliantly coloured scagliola and blue and pink lapis, among other materials.
King Edward VII supervised a partial redecoration in the style of the Belle Époque, with cream and gold accents. Many of the smaller reception rooms are decorated in the Chinese Regency style, using furniture and fittings that were sourced from the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and Carlton House, respectively.
The Palace of Westminster contains 775 rooms, and its garden is the biggest private garden in the city of London. Included are 19 Staterooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 baths, among other things.
The building is 108 meters long across the front, 120 meters deep (including the centre square), and 24 meters high, according to the measurements.
The staterooms, which are used for official and state entertainment, are accessible to the public on a year-round basis throughout August and September, as well as on certain days during the winter and spring.
Every year, more than 50,000 people attend State banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions, and Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace, including members of the royal family. Her Majesty also meets with the Prime Minister every week and welcomes newly appointed foreign ambassadors at Buckingham Palace.
2. Antilla – $1.2 Billion
Antilia is a private house located on Altamount Road, Cumballa Hill, South Mumbai, India. This 27-story building, which stands 173 meters (568 feet) tall and covers more than 37,000 square meters (400,000 square feet), is the home of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his family, who moved in in 2012.
After the British royal property Buckingham Palace, Antila is the second most expensive house in the world, and the most expensive residential property, according to the latest recent valuation in May 2020.
It has amenities such as three helipads, air traffic control, a 168-car garage, a ballroom, nine high-speed elevators, a 50-seat theatre, terrace gardens, a swimming pool, spa, health centre, a temple, and Antilia’s architectural style is based on the shapes of the lotus flower and the sun, which are both symbols of fertility.
The top six levels of the building have been designated as a private full-floor residential space for anyone who wants to live there full-time. It has also been built to survive an earthquake of magnitude 8.
3. Villa Leopolda – $750 Million
Villa Leopolda is the third most expensive house in the world, with a price tag of $750 million.
In Villefranche-sur-Mer, on the French Riviera, the House La Leopolda is a huge standalone villa located in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the town of Villefranche-sur-Mer. The house is set amid gardens that total 18 acres in size.
In addition to Gianni and Marella Agnelli, Izaak and Dorothy J. Killam, and, since 1987, Edmond (1932–1999) and Lily Safra, who inherited the villa following her husband’s death, the estate has had many noteworthy owners.
Aside from having 11 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms, the home also includes a commercial greenhouse with a helipad, an outdoor kitchen, and one of the most beautiful swimming pools you will ever see.
As a result of its use as the location for Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 film, To Catch a Thief, the property is already well-known.
Leopold II of Belgium was the original owner of the home, which was rebuilt by American architect Ogden Codman Jr. in the 1920s to reflect his status as a royal residence.
The Russian billionaire businessman Mikhail Prokhorov attempted many times to buy Villa Leopolda via Belgian real estate developer Ignace Meuwissen but was unsuccessful each time. In the summer of 2008, Lily Safra eventually agreed to accept his offer of €370 million (plus €19.5 million for the villa’s furnishings) after much deliberation.
4. Villa Les Cèdres – $450 Million
Located at 57 Avenue Denis Séméria in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, in the département of Alpes-Maritimes, in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France, the Jardin botanique “Les Cèdres” is a private botanical garden. Villa Les Cèdres fourth most expensive house in the world.
This house, which is estimated to be worth $450 million, is on the verge of being worth almost half a billion dollars.
The property is situated on about 35 acres of landscaped gardens, and its name comes from the abundance of cedar trees that can be seen across the property.
A total of 14 bedrooms and 18,000 square feet of living space can be found in the home. It also includes an Olympic-sized swimming pool as well as a huge stable that can accommodate up to 30 horses.
Crystal chandeliers, gilded woodwork, 19th-century oil paintings, and a wood-panelled library with something in the neighbourhood of 3,000 volumes may be found on the interior’s first floor.
On the grounds of the house “Les Cèdres,” built in 1830 in the Sardinian style and formerly the property of King Leopold II of Belgium, the garden was created in 1924 and was the world’s most costly residence at the time of its construction. The property was acquired by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle, the founder of the Grand Marnier Society, in 1924.
In 1928, his son Julien increased the number of exotic plants that were being grown. This garden was utilized by the Marnier-Lapostolle family to gather bitter oranges known as bigarades, which they used to flavour Grand Marnier and other products. Formed in 1976, the Société des Produits Marnier-Lapostolle has owned the garden since its inception. In 2016, the company was purchased by Campari.
Today, the garden includes more than 14,000 kinds of tropical plants, with the most tender (about two-thirds of the total number of species) being maintained in 25 heated greenhouses, which are located around the grounds.
According to reports, it is one of the biggest collections of tropical plants in Europe, and it has a palm grove, a collection of bamboo, and an equatorial forest grove among other things.
As one of the world’s top ten botanical gardens, the garden was included in the French National Historic List in 2008 and designated as a national heritage monument.
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5. Les Palais Bulles – $390 Million
A huge mansion in Théoule-Sur-Mer, France, built by the Hungarian architect Antti Lovag and known as the “Bubble Palace,” is named for the shape of the building’s turrets. It was originally constructed for the French businessman Pierre Bernard, and it was subsequently purchased as a vacation house by the fashion designer Pierre Cardin.
It consists of a reception hall, panoramic lounge, and open-air amphitheatre with seating for 500 people, 10 bedrooms, and several swimming pools and waterfalls set among large manicured grounds.
The Palais contains 29 rooms, 11 bathrooms, and 10 bedrooms, each of which has been designed by a different artist, such as Patrice Breteau, Jerome Tisserand, Daniel You, François Chauvin, and Gerard Cloarec. The Palais is located in the heart of Paris.
Pierre Bernard, a French businessman, commissioned the construction of the 13,000-square-metre home between 1975 and 1989.
This structure was created by Antti Lovag, who despised straight lines because he believed they were “an assault against nature.” He described it as a “kind of play” that was “spontaneous, joyous, and full of surprises.”
After Bernard died in 1991, the home was purchased by Pierre Cardin, who lived there for many years. The fashion designer never really lived there, yet he claimed it as his home “This castle has turned into a little slice of heaven for me.
Its cellular shapes have long mirrored the outer manifestations of the picture of my works, and this has been the case for quite some time. I have created an art gallery in which I display the works of current designers and painters “…..
The restoration, which took five years and was overseen by French architect Odile Decq, was finished in 2016.
There were attempts to sell the property in March 2017, with an asking price of €350 million, but no buyers were found. It may be leased out for $33,200 per day to parties of people.
Following the death of Pierre Cardin in December 2020, it has been proposed that the building be converted into a public exhibition space for art exhibitions.
6. The Odeon Tower Penthouse – $335 Million
The Odeon Tower is a twin-skyscraper in Monaco’s Principality. It was the city-first state’s high-rise building since the 1980s (high structures had been abandoned owing to aesthetic concerns and criticism of overdevelopment in the 1980s).
At 170 meters tall, Tour Odeon was the second-highest building on Europe’s Mediterranean coast upon completion, behind only Gran Hotel Bali (186m) in Benidorm, Spain. If Tour Odeon had been constructed in neighbouring France, it would have been one of the country’s ten tallest structures.
Sitting atop Europe’s second-tallest skyscraper, the 35,500-square-foot, five-story penthouse may become one of the world’s most costly homes per square meter when it goes on the market in 2014.
With an estimated market value of $335 million, the Odeon Tower Penthouse is among the world’s most expensive houses.
The Tour Odeon, developed by Grouped Marzocco and conceived by Monegasque architect Alexandre Giraldi, was completed last year. For many months, several apartments in the building, including the five-story penthouse, have been on the market. Its construction began in 2009, at the depths of the economic crisis. The structure was dedicated in April 2015.
7. Four Fairfield Pond – $248 Million
Fair Field is the 7th most expensive house in the world and a large private residence located in the Hamptons, Long Island, New York.
The main home is about 64,000 square feet (5,900 square meters) in size, while the overall floor space is 110,000 square meters. The 63-acre estate has 29 bedrooms, 39 bathrooms, a 91-foot dining room, a basketball court, a bowling alley, squash courts, tennis courts, and three pools.
For tax assessment reasons, the home is valued between $267 and $500 million. The owner of the Renno Group, Ira Rennert owns it.
8. One Hyde Park Penthouse, $247M
Mr. Rinat Akhmetov spent a total of $ 247 million for two flats in One Hyde Park, which is considered to be one of the world’s most expensive houses.
The nine-figure trophy apartment, which is owned by London real estate entrepreneur Nick Candy, is spread across two levels with a total of 9,000 square feet each level, and it has five bedrooms in total. Candy and his wife, actress Holly Valance, as well as their two children, lived in the area for about five years.
Even from the street, it is obvious that One Hyde Park is a very high-end development. It is home to the biggest Rolex shop in Europe, which is located next to a McLaren automobile dealership that is brimming with flashy six-figure supercars.
Developed by CPC Group — which is owned by Candy’s brother, Christian Candy — and Waterknights, a business managed by former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the skyscraper is located in the heart of downtown. Candy & Candy, the interior design company founded by the Candy brothers, created the space.
9. Ellison Estate – $200 Million
This $200 million home is owned by Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle and one of the world’s wealthiest individuals. Ellison Estate is the 8th most expensive house in the world.
Due to the estate’s enormous size, 23 acres to be precise, the property has several dwellings.
There are ten distinct homes inside the complex, as well as a tea house and baths, a man-made lake, and a Koi pond.
The estate’s design is heavily influenced by Japanese aesthetics and was inspired by a Japanese Emperor’s castle.
Paul Driscoll, an architect, and Zen Buddhist teacher designed the home.
Additionally, the estate grounds include several very valuable trees, including cherry blossoms, maples, oaks, and redwoods.
10. Palazzo di Amore – $195 Million
Palazzo di Amore is a residence in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was mentioned as the most costly residential complex in the United States in November 2014, with a $195 million price tag and 53,000 square feet of living space, and it was recognized at the time as the most expensive house in the world.
The property is being offered for sale by Jeff Greene, a real estate billionaire who purchased the property for approximately $35 million and spent the next several years renovating it with the assistance of developers Mohamed Hadid and Bob Ray Offenhauser, as well as designer Alberto Pinto, among other professionals.
Upon completion, the house will be 53,000 square feet with 12 bedrooms, including a 5,000-square-foot master suite, 25 bathrooms, a 15,000 square-foot entertainment centre with a bowling alley, 50-seat state-of-the-art movie theatre, and discotheque, a 24-car garage, and 25 acres of grounds that will include a wine-producing vineyard, 150-person infinity pool, reflecting pool, and tennis court, as well as parking for approximately 200 cars.
11. 18-19 Kensington Gardens – $128 Million
Kensington Palace Gardens is a luxurious street in Kensington, west of central London, next to Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace, which is home to the Royal Family.
Kensington Palace Gardens was recognized at the time as the most expensive house in the world.
Located on the site of the London Cage, which was accessed via gates at each end and guarded by sentry boxes during World War II and the Cold War, it served as the British government’s MI19 headquarters throughout both World Wars.
Lakshmi Mittal, an Indian business tycoon, and billionaire has acquired ownership of the property. He is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Arcelor Mittal, the world’s biggest steel-making business.
The mansion, which is about 55,000 square feet in size, was originally constructed in the nineteenth century.
In the beginning, it was two semi-detached homes that were subsequently joined together to form one single residence by developer David Khalili
With 12 bedrooms, an indoor pool, Turkish baths, and parking for up to 20 vehicles, it is a luxurious retreat.
