10 Most Expensive Houses in the World

Once upon a time, the kings and emperors lived in forts and palaces, and rich and the elite lived in wonderful, similarly palatial buildings. But today, there is hardly any space available to build such houses, nor will such  construction play well with modern architecture. However, that has not stopped the wealthy people from finding the most luxurious places to live in. Some houses are old architectures that are inhabitable, while the others are new constructions. Let’s take you on a journey to visit the modern palaces. Here’s a countdown of the most expensive houses in the world. If you want to live big, you have to pay big.  Some of the greatest, largest, most exquisite, most expensive homes in the world are on the market, but before you write out that initial deposit, remember your place in the world.  If you go to the store and buy an extra can of Chef Boyardee because you got a bonus at work and feel like celebratin’, then you probably can’t afford any of the expensive houses below. But just which home is the most expensive house in the world; not as cut and dried as you would imagine

10. 17 Upper Phillimore Gardens

Located in London, this 10-bedroom mansion was once a prep school. It has an underground swimming pool, sauna, gym and cinema, and even has a panic room. The interior is covered with marble and gold, and decorated with priceless artworks. Owned by Olena Pinchuk, founder of ANTIAIDS Foundation and daughter of Ukraine’s second president, Leonid Kuchma, this mansion is priced $128 million.The late 17th-century house was probably built by the lord of the manor, Thomas Juxon, who lived in East Sheen, as a house to let. A second substantial house to let, Brick Farm, was built just to the west. This later became the home of Sir William Hooker, the first Director of Kew Gardens, who rented the house and renamed it West Park. The estates of both houses were let out for grazing and market gardening.

9. Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century, and is presently the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.Today, the State Rooms are open to the public and managed by the independent charity Historic Royal Palaces, a nonprofit organization that does not receive public funds. The offices and private accommodation areas of the Palace remain the responsibility of the Royal Household and are maintained by the Royal Household Property Section. The palace also displays many paintings and other objects from the Royal Collection. As if that isn’t enough, there are plans for the addition of an underground extension with a tennis court a health centre and also an auto museum. It is owned by Roman Abramovich, a billionaire from Russia, who owns the investment firm called Millhouse LLC, and Chelsea Football Club of the English Premier League, and is valued $140 million.

8. Seven The Pinnacle

Located in Big Sky of Montana, it is the largest property in Yellowstone Club. It is a private ski and golf community for the supremely rich people. The house comes with heated floors, several pools, a gym, a wine cellar, and also its very own ski lift. Real estate developer and timber baron, Tim Blixseth, who is the co-founder of Yellowstone Club, owns this house with Edra Blixseth. The house’s price is $155 million.Owned by Tim Blixseth, in Montana, this house is unique for two reasons: it has a private chair lift directly from the house to a nearby ski-resort (which Blixseth owns), and is the only house on this list so far named that

7. Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle is a National Historic Landmark and California Historical Landmark mansion located on the Central Coast of California, United States. It was designed by architect Julia Morgan, between 1919 and 1947, as a residence for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who died in 1951. In 1954 it became a California State Park. The site was opened to visitors in 1958. Since that time it has been operated as the Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument where the estate, and its considerable collection of art and antiques, is open for public tours. Despite its location far from any urban center, the site attracts "millions of travelers each year".The mansion’s claim to fame was from being featured in the film, The Godfather. It has also played host to many of the most celebrated people, like Winston Churchill, Clark Gable, John and Jackie Kennedy, etc. Owned by William Randolph Hearst’s trustees, this heritage and tourist site is a part of the California Park System, and is worth $191 million.It features three swimming pools, 29 bedrooms (you have to supply your own horse heads har har har), movie theater and, for some reason, a disco.

6. Ellison Estate

Located at Woodside in California, this is more of a compound than a house, and it consists of 10 buildings. Apart from that, the compound also a man-made lake, a koi pond, a bath house and also a tea house. Together, the area covered by the Ellison estate is 23 acres, and it is owned by Larry Ellison, who is the co-founder of Oracle and was third richest man of 2013 by none other than Forbes. Its value is $200 million.

5. 18-19 Kensington Palace Gardens

A tree-lined avenue half a mile long in the heart of embassy land, Kensington Palace Gardens is often cited as the "most exclusive address" in London, according to real estate agency Knight Frank. It is one of the most expensive residential streets in the world, and has long been known as "Billionaires Row", due to the extreme wealth of its private residents, although in fact the majority of its current occupants are either national embassies or ambassadorial residences. As of mid-2012, current market prices for a property on the street average over £22 million.It is immediately to the west of Kensington Gardens and connects Notting Hill Gate with Kensington High Street. The southern section of Kensington Palace Gardens is called Palace Green. This residential building has 12 bedrooms, a Turkish baths, and indoor pool and a parking space that can accommodate 20 cars. The house belongs to steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, the head of the largest manufacturer Arcelor Mittal, and is one of Forbes’ 100 richest Indians. Its value is $222 million.

4. Four Fairfield Pond

Located at Sagaponack at New York, this palatial building is spread over an area of 63 acres, and it consists of 29 bedrooms, and even comes with its own power plant. Inside the building are 39 bathrooms and a 91-foot long dining room. It also has a basketball court, a bowling alley, tennis courts and squash courts. The building’s owner is Ira Rennert who owns the Renco Group. The mansion is valued at $248.5 million.Currently valued that way due to its property taxes, this 66,000 square-foot main house has a basketball court, bowling alley, and a $150,000 hot tub. The most valuable home in the US (again, according to Wikipedia)

3. Villa Leopolda

The estate, which is spread over an area of 50 acres, is located at Cote D’Azure in France, and is inclusive of a green house almost as large as a commercial building, a helipad, an outhouse kitchen and a guest house larger than many of the mansions owned by millionaires. It was featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief in 1955. Brazilian philanthropist, Lily Safra owns this gigantic mansion which is valued at $750 billion.Built by King Leopold II of Belgium in 1902 and located on the French Riviera, this home was purchased by Russian billionaire Prokhorov, who is so rich he lost billions to the latest economic collapse and still had enough fun money to buy himself a three-quarter-billion-dollar summer home.  It has 27 stories, 19 bedrooms, and a rumored 50 full-time gardeners.this home was purchased by Russian billionaire Prokhorov, who is so rich he lost billions to the latest economic collapse and still had enough fun money to buy himself a three-quarter-billion-dollar summer home.  It has 27 stories, 19 bedrooms, and a rumored 50 full-time gardeners.

2. Antilia

Located at Mumbai in India, this building with an extremely untraditional architecture and style is spread across 400,000 square-feet. This 27-story modern palace has 6 underground parking floors and 3 helicopter pads, and requires a staff of 600 people to maintain it. Mukesh Ambani, the richest man of India, and owner of the Reliance Group of Companies, is the owner of the most expensive modern building, valued at $1 billion.The architecture is based on an Indian tradition called Vastu Shastra, which is supposed to be conducive to the movement of positive energy.  In keeping with this, each floor has not only a unique design, but an entirely unique set of materials and aesthetic design — meaning each room is meant to look like it’s from a different house.

Basically, this house has everything — things you can imagine, things you can’t imagine, and things you never thought to imagine but are now imagining because they sound like the greatest thing you’ve ever heard of.

1. Buckingham Palace

It is located in London and technically speaking, it is still a house, even though it is not for sale. After all, it is the residence of the Queen of England, and has 775 rooms, including 188 staff rooms, 78 bathrooms, 52 bedrooms, 19 state rooms and 92 offices. The owner of this property is the British Sovereign, currently Queen Elizabeth II who has been ruling since 1952. The valuation of the palace is $1.55 billion, as per the National Building Society.

While many know about the Buckingham Palace, many of these expensive residential estates are almost as unknown to the world as their owners are. There are some other expensive houses, like the most expensive apartment which is the Odeon Tower Penthouse in Monaco, owned by the Marzocco Family, the costliest celebrity home which is Santa Barbara Estate in Mentecito which belongs to television tycoon Oprah Winfrey, and the priciest castle, which is the Ashford Castle in Ireland.