World's most expensive houses - topped by British £1 billion home
A study of the most expensive homes in the world has revealed that Buckingham Palace is the priciest of them all. The 775 room palace was valued at an incredible £1 billion - which is perhaps unsurprising for a home which features 52 royal bedrooms and 188 staff bedrooms, and comes with its own enormous gardens in the midst of prime central London. It means the Queen pushes the world's billionaires and oligarchs (who aren't used to second place) further down the list.
The study was done by American website comparecamp.com, and the rest of the top 10 was:
2. The Antilia in South Mumbai: £629 million(pictured below)
This weird-looking 27-storey asymmetrical tower offers 400,000 square foot of quirky architecture, six underground parking levels and three helipads. It is home to Mukesh Ambani, a billionaire Indian business owner.
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3. Villa Leopolda, Cote D'Azure: £472 million
This french property was originally built for one of the mistresses of the Belgian King. After he died in 1909 she was evicted and the property was used as a military hospital during the First World War. It is currently home to Lily Safra, a Brazilian philanthropist and widow of banker Edmond Safra.
4. Four Fairfield Pond, Sagaponack, New York: £282 million (watch video below)
This 29 bedroom property in the Hamptons is owned by US industrialist Ira Rennert, who commissioned the property with a number of unusual features. It has a basketball court, bowling alley, squash court, tennis courts, 29 bedrooms and 39 bathrooms.
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5. 18-19 Kensington Palace Gardens, London: £140 million
This belongs to steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, and is on so-called Billionaire's Row, running alongside Kensington Gardens. Other residents of the road include Jonathan Hunt, the founder of Foxtons, Roman Abranovich and Tamara Ecclestone. Mittal's home is pricier because it is two properties combined into one.
6. Ellison Estate, Woodside in California: £126 million
This Japanese-inspired house, belonging to Oracle co-founder Larry Elison, is just one of a number he owns. The compound includes ten buildings, a koi pond and a tea house.
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7. Hearst Castle, Beverley Hills, Los Angeles: £120 million(pictured above)
The OTT property was built on a hill on the outskirts of the city by William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper magnate. It is still owned by the foundation he established, and is open to the public. It is perhaps best known for being used as a set in The Godfather.
8. Seven The Pinnacle, Montana: £97.5 million
This enormous home is in the billionaire's ski and golf community, The Yellowstone Club. Amongst the trinkets installed by Edra and Tim Blixseth (real estate billionaire and his ex-wife) are indoor and outdoor pools and a private ski life.
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9. Kensington Palace Gardens: £88 million
It's the second property on this famous street to make it to the list. This one is owned by Roman Abramovich, Russian oligarch and owner of Chelsea Football club. He is said to be planning an enormous underground extension - to make the property even more valuable.
10. 17 Upper Phillimore Gardens. Kensington, London £80.5 million
Elena Franchuk, daughter of a former Ukranian president and now an oligarch in her own right, lives in this former girls' school. She has added to the billionaire trappings of this ten-bedroom property with marble pillars and brass and gold finishes.
The site also listed the most expensive apartment as the £252 million Odeon Tower Penthouse in Monaco, and the most expensive celebrity property as Oprah's £53 million Santa Barbara Estate.
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