The 10 Expensive Houses

How do you feel if you  have a house which is more than few million above and even reach till hundred million? A roof over your head with a cosy bed to sleep in just won’t do for some people.  Isn’t it very impossible and unbelievable? In fact, there are a lot of super duper expensive houses around the world. That will make us live like a king in such a luxury house. Check it out!

1 ) Antilla – US$2 Billion

Owner is India’s richest, Mukesh Ambani of Reliance fame whose net worth was 43 Billion in March of this year and was the 5th richest in the world.  The only remotely comparable high-rise property currently on the market is the 70 million dollar triplex penthouse at the Pierre Hotel in New York, designed to resemble a French chateau, and climbing 525 feet in the air.  When the Ambani residence is finished in January, completing four years of design and construction, it will be 27 story and 550 feet high (height which normally houses 60 floors) with 400,000 square feet of interior space.

However, all of this has not been without its share of controversies. Antilla is being built on land sold to Ambanis’ to be used as orphanage by Waqf Board.The land measuring 11793 sq yards was sold in 2004 by the trust for a charitable purpose of looking after the destitutes and orphan children belonging to the Khoja Mohammedan community.

2 ) William Randolph Hearst’s Mansion – US$165 Million

Hearst Castle is a mansion on the Central Coast of California, a National Historic Landmark in California, United States. It was designed by architect Julia Morgan for William Randolph Hearst—a newspaper magnate from 1919 until 1947. In 1957, the Hearst Corporation donated the property to the state of California. Since that time it has been maintained as state historic park where the estate and its considerable collection of art and antiques are open for public tours. Despite its location far from any urban center, the site attracts roughly one million visitors per year.

Hearst first approached American architect Julia Morgan with ideas for a new project in April 1919, shortly after he took ownership. Hearst’s original idea was to build a bungalow, according to a draughtsman who worked in Morgan’s office who recounted Hearst’s words from the initial meeting:      I would like to build something upon the hill at San Simeon. I get tired of going up there and camping in tents. I’m getting a little too old for that. I’d like to get something that would be a little more comfortable.

3 ) Elena Franchuk’s Victorian Villa – US$161 Million

Elena Franchuk, a businesswoman and AIDS philanthropist  from Ukraine, is reported to be the undisclosed buyer who purchased a newly upgraded home in southwest London for 80 million pounds (approximately $161 million). The home is a freestanding, five-story, 10-bedroom Victorian villa, and has recently undergone 10 million pounds (approximately $20 million) worth of upgrades, including the additions of an underground indoor swimming pool, movie theater, panic room, sauna and gym.

The home served as a girl’s prep school until 1997. In 2006, it was purchased by developers for L20 million. The company put in the L10 million upgrades and reputedly sold it to Franchuk for L80 million pounds.

4 ) Bran (Dracula’s Castle – US$140 Million

Bran Castle, situated near Bran and in the immediate vicinity of BraÅŸov, is a national monument and landmark in Romania. The fortress is situated on the border between Transylvania  and Wallachia, on DN73. Commonly known as “Dracula’s Castle” (although it is one among several locations linked to the Dracula  legend, including Poienari Castle and Hunyad Castle), it is marketed as the home of the titular character in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

There are the 450,000 tourists that visit the castle each year to consider: One may assume it could take a little while before word got out that it was no longer open for visitors. Plus, the castle has no central heating and gets quite cold. But you’d get to live in the same place where Dracula stayed.

5/6) Hala Ranch – US$135 Million

A Saudi Arabian prince boasts one of the most expensive homes in the United States. Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, a former Saudi ambassador to the U.S., owns the 95-acre (38.4-hectare) Hala Ranch, located in Aspen, Colo. Not only is that a gigantic price for the house, but that doesn’t even include the large guest house, which sold separately already for over $36-million – the most ever paid for a home in the area.  Aspen is an exclusive ski resort town, made that much more famous by Hala Ranch.

Forbes magazine was quick to jump on Hala Ranch and rank it one of ten “most expensive homes in the United States,” coming in at number-three.  The main house isn’t even the estate’s main selling feature. Hala Ranch isn’t a mere mansion; it’s an expansive piece of ultra-prime real estate. Sultan’s property covers approximately 95 acres of Aspen territory, making the property one of the area’s largest privately owned tracts of land.

6/5 ) Updown Court Windlesham – US$135 Million

It was designed with a rich Arab buyer in mind, but times have changed. Chances are high that Britain’s most expensive property will be bought by a Russian. Dubbed the first stately home to be built in the United Kingdom in more than three centuries, Updown Court. Updown Court, a newly built mansion for sale outside of London, offers plenty of lavish amenities: five swimming pools, an eight-limousine garage, and mosaic floor made of 24-karat gold leaf in the downstairs study. Some recent market activity which regular Luxist readers will be aware of makes a new ranking imperative.

For starters, last month Candy Spelling listed her Holmby Hills mega-mansion  at $150 million, making it the world’s most expensive estate. Then just last week a mansion at No. 10 Belgrave Square in London hit the market for around the same price – £100 million, or about $149 million (depending on exchange rates), while a second Belgrave Square property finally completed renovations and has been listed at £80 million, or about $120 million.

7 ) The Manor – US$130 Million

56,000-square-foot mansion outside Los Angeles, called “The Manor,” was sold in 2006 for US$130 million. The home was built for Spelling in 1991, with his and his family’s every desire. The 123-room home, which covers 56,500 square feet of living space, spans 6 acres of prime Los Angeles real estate .   In addition to its 123 rooms, the house boasts an indoor skating rink, swimming pools, tennis court and bowling alley on the grounds. It also has some more unusual features, like a doll museum, a room used exclusively for wrapping presents, and an entire floor dedicated to closet space.

8 ) Maison de l’Amitie – US$125 Million

Its fantastic open front yard offering views of the sea subsequently attracted the attention of the business king Donald Trump. He bought the property in 2004 for $41.25 million and now this estate is out for sale since 2007 for the asked price of $125 million.  The elegant features about this 80,000 square feet mansion are its 1 conservatory, 1 ballroom, 8 half-baths, 8 skylights, 15 full bathrooms and 15 bedrooms. You can enjoy a lavish time with your family at its tennis house and guest cottage that are within the premises of the main house. For those who prefer a dip in a private pool to sea bathing, a 100-foot long swimming pool is available too in the Maison de L’Amitie estate.

9 ) Tranquility - US$100 Million

Tranquility is currently on the market for $100 million. Tranquility is a spectacular estate located in Lake Tahoe, Nev., that may come as close as it gets to owning your own private planet. This is an absolutely amazing property that is aptly named.  The property is one of five properties currently on the real estate marketplace with a selling price of $100 million. Since each of these ultra luxury properties are so uniquely breathtaking, it piqued our interest when the opportunity to speak with Shari Chase of Chase International, the owner and exclusive representative of Tranquility came upon us.

10 ) Bishop Avenue – US$99 Million

Halis Toprak is a Turkish businessman that created the Toprak Mansion which is selling for around $99 million. Toprak filled his 28,000 square foot mansion’s every room with luxury. A Turkish sultan would not look out of place in the Turkish bath that has room for twenty people. Glentree Estates is selling the house.