Many people think of their dream home as a quiet and quaint place looking over a relaxing view of the hills, or even the oceanside. But some of the richest in the world took their relaxing dream home to another level, by spending a few hundred millions of dollars on it. Most of these houses have a long list of amenities that keeps on updating as the house changes ownership.
Also see: Most Expensive Vacation Spots in the World
Luxurious Houses in the World
Here are the 12 most luxurious houses in the world, including some of the most beautiful.
1. Antilia, Mumbai, India
Deemed at almost $2 billion, Mukesh Ambani’s Antilia tops the list of Most Luxurious Houses and is the most valuable property in the world after the Buckingham Palace. Shrouded in controversy and mockery since its opening, Antilia is named after the mythical island in the Atlantic and designed by the firm Perkins and Will. It took 4 years and $1 billion to build this 27 story residence comprising of 6 levels of basement parking, 3 helipads, a movie theatre, swimming pools, a health spa, salon, yoga studio, and an ice cream parlor. It takes a huge staff of 600 people to maintain the total area of 400,000 square feet that this home overs.
2. Villa Leopolda, Villefranche-Sur-Mer, France
Villa La Leopolda is a detached villa, residing in the Alpes-Maritimes on the scenic French Riviera and spread across 20 vast acres. This villa with spectacular cascading terrace has a reputed history of noteworthy owners including the head of Fiat, Gianni, and style icon Marella Agnelli. The estate was once owned by King Leopold II of Belgium and now by Brazilian billionaire Lily Safra. Given its historical architectural character, France has designated the estate as monument historique, ensuring National Heritage protection to this terraced villa.
3. Fair Field, Sagaponack, N.Y.
Owned by American billionaire investor Ira Rennert, this vast beach-front mansion with a 63-acre estate is one of the largest in America. It is named Fair Field after the nearby pond, and this house covers a huge area of 64,000 sq. ft. which includes 29 bedrooms, 39 bathrooms, 3 dining rooms, 3 swimming pools, and a 164-seat theatre. For recreation and sports, this house is no less than a club, consisting of a gym, a basketball court, bowling alleys, 2 tennis courts, 2 squash courts, and other indoor activities. With the face value at a whopping $170 million, the estate comes with its very own on-site power plant to power those facilities.
4. 18-19 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, U.K.
Home to some of the most expensive properties in the world, Kensington Palace Gardens boasts a number of affluent and rich residents, including this one owned by steel baron Lakshmi Mittal. Kensington Palace Gardens is the second most expensive street in the world and Lakshmi Mittal owns three houses on this street. This 55,000 sq. ft. mansion is named ‘Taj Mittal’ and has marble from the same quarries of the stone used in Taj Mahal. With renaissance styled interiors, winter gardens, 12 bedrooms, and a swimming pool, this home is certainly one of the most prominent on the Billionaire’s Row.
5. Fleur De Lys, LA, California, US
Sold for more than $100 million, The Fleur De Lys is one of the most expensive properties in the world and the costliest in LA. Built on 5 acres of prime estate, the 41,000 square feet palace is modeled after the Palace of Versailles in France. Similar to the French palace, the mansion is surrounded by lush green lawns, designer gardens, staff quarters for 10, a spa, tennis court, and a 9 car garage. Inside this mansion are 12 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, gold-leaf moldings on the interior, a ballroom, and a 50-seat screening room, completing this home with all imaginable amenities in a palatial home, including a fully functioning poolhouse.
6. Xanadu 2.0, Seattle, WA, US
The richest man in the world will obviously own one of the most luxurious houses in the world and Bill Gates has spared no expense in this simple but intricately built and equipped mansion. Overlooking Lake Washington, Xanadu 2.0, covers an area of 66,000 sq. ft. and took over 7 years to build. In addition to a clean sustainable design, the mansion of a tech giant undoubtedly includes a cutting edge smart home system and a sensory system to change the room’s ambiance to suit the mood and timing. The list of amenities includes a swimming pool equipped with an underwater music system, a massive gym at 2,500 sq. ft. in floor space, 24 bathrooms, 6 kitchens, a grand library, and an extended guest house.
7. Silicon Valley Mansion, Los Altos Hills, CA
Perched on an 18-acre estate atop a hill in California, Russian tycoon and investor Yuri Milner’s mansion is worth around $100 million. Inspired by 18th-century French chateau, this mansion is dramatically designed to resemble old wing-styled manors, with three formal entrances around a central entry courtyard. The mansion’s North wing has a ballroom, a formal dining room, wine cellar, home theater, a spa, and a gym while the Southside contains residential suites and rooms that are no less in luxury. Spread over 25,000 sq. ft. this mansion also opens up to panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay.
8. The Manalapan Residence, US
At $135 million, this beachside property was once the second most expensive home in the United States, and its exclusivity proves its worth. Set upon 5.5 acres of land facing the Atlantic Ocean, The Manalapan Residence sits on an island between Palm Beach and Delray Beach in the United States. Some of the many amenities on its 63,000 sq. ft. area includes 12 bedrooms (plus a 7 bedroom guest house), 47 bathrooms & half baths, 18 car garage, 6,140 sq. ft. master bedroom suite, an indoor and outdoor pool room, exotic gardens laden with exquisite fountains, a theatre, casino, bowling alley, a tennis court, gym as well as a beauty salon, shark tank, and 2 elevators to move along the three stories. Clearly, this extremely long list of modern and glamorous amenities do not overshadow the mansion’s tasteful and classical architecture and the fact that it was a 20th-century style icon, being featured in books and movies for its grandeur.
9. Versailles, Florida, US
Aptly named after the Palace of Versailles in France, this mega-mansion is worth $75 million and requires an additional $25 million of renovations before it can be on the market. The mansion has 30 bedrooms, 23 bathrooms, its own bowling alley, full-sized swimming pools, roller-skating rink, a 20 car garage, a large boat house, formal gardens, ballroom, and a theatre and several more activities. This list of amenities paired with its grand architecture and interior earn it the title of the largest family home ever built in the US. The hand-built windows themselves cost more than £2 million and other luxuries include three separate spas next to an 80-foot waterfall and a children’s theatre. With the long list of luxuries in this mansion, the price tag seems worth it.
10. One Hyde Park, London, U.K
Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man, spent a record £136.4m on two flats in the most expensive apartment complex in the UK. with an area of 25,000 sq. ft., the oligarch spent £5,456 per square foot. Each of the apartments in One Hyde Park comes with complete protection of bulletproof glass surroundings, interiors designed by famed duo Nick and Christian Candy, customized interior smart lighting, personal wine cellars, and a permanent residency in the next-door Mandarin Oriental hotel.
11. Ellison Estate, Woodside, California
This massive home and estate took Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle and the fifth richest man in the world, nearly 9 years to design and build. Famous as a property collector, Ellison designed this estate in a Japanese style in 2004, taking inspiration from a 1600 CE Japanese palace. The estate consists of 10 buildings including 3 cottages, a gymnasium, 2 gardens, tea house, bathhouse, a man-made lake, a bathhouse, and a koi pond.
12. 16 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, U.K
Another property from the Billionaire’s Row, 16 Kensington Palace Gardens is owned by the owner of Chelsea Football Club and Russian business tycoon, Roman Abramovich. With a price tag of 35 million pounds, the mansion disappointingly fell short of luxuries. Thus, Roman expanded it underground, adding a subterranean swimming pool, leisure complex, a tennis court, a health center and more, increasing the floor space to 20,000 sq. ft.
Other exotic Homes include the Playboy Mansion, the Barbie House (a Barbie-themed huge mansion), and several properties owned by the royals including Kensington Palace, and Updown Court in England.
