Editor’s note: This article was first published in September 2013; the prices are 2013 asking prices or press estimates (Bran Castle’s figure dates from when it was offered for sale around 2007). Mikhail Prokhorov sold the Brooklyn Nets in 2019.
I wouldn’t live in many of these homes even if I could afford to, but it’s always interesting to see what kind of houses people with enormous amounts of money spend it on. Here are the 10 homes considered the most expensive in the world in 2013.**
10. Bran Castle ($135 million)
Known as Dracula’s Castle, this home in Transylvania, Romania, is priced at 135 million dollars. Today it is a museum, but it once served as a residence for royal families. Why is it known as Dracula’s Castle? Simply because it was the home of Vlad the Impaler, also known as Count Dracula.
9. Updown Court ($139 million)
This mansion is in Surrey, England, and is valued at 139 million dollars. It has every kind of luxury: a private cinema, a tennis court, heated indoor pools and a garage with room for eight limousines.
8. The Manor ($150 million)
This home in Los Angeles, California, is valued at 150 million dollars and has more than 120 rooms, no less.
7. The Pinnacle ($155 million)
Located in the exclusive Yellowstone Club residential community in Montana, USA, this home is known, because of the local climate, for having a fireplace in every room, including every bathroom.
6. Franchuk Villa ($161 million)
This estate is in London, UK: a mansion with a stately, old-world look and every modern comfort, such as cinema rooms, panic rooms, an indoor pool, saunas and its own gym. It costs 161 million dollars.
5. Hearst Mansion ($165 million)
This 29-bedroom, castle-like estate was used to film The Godfather. It costs 165 million dollars and, unlike other castles, it has its own nightclub.
4. Fairfield Pond ($198 million)
Located in the Hamptons, New York, it is currently the most expensive mansion in the United States, at 198 million dollars. It has its own bowling alley, a basketball court, a heated pool and an incredible plot of land.
3. The Penthouse ($202 million)
Incredible as it may seem, one of the top three spots goes not to a castle or a mansion but to a flat, in a building overlooking Hyde Park in London. The penthouse has a panic room, bulletproof glass, a children’s play area and some of the most advanced security systems available, such as an iris scanner to get up to the penthouse. (Read: The security systems favoured by the super-rich.)
2. Villa Leopolda ($505 million)
This mansion, the most expensive in Europe, is on the French Riviera. It was built in 1902 by King Leopold, and its current owner is said to be Mikhail Prokhorov, the owner of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team.
1. Antilia (over $1 billion)
In Mumbai, India, right opposite the largest concentration of poverty and slums in the country, stands this 27-storey house, valued at more than 1 billion dollars, which will probably never lose the top spot in this ranking. It belongs to Mukesh Ambani, an Indian business magnate. To give you an idea of what you would find inside this building turned into a spectacular home:
- 173 metres tall.
- 37,000 square metres spread over 27 floors.
- 3 floors of hanging gardens.
- A floor that is a gym.
- A ballroom.
- A 50-seat cinema.
- 3 helipads.
- 3 swimming pools.
- 9 lifts.
- Parking for 160 vehicles.
- A domestic staff of 600.
And finally, the electricity bill is said to come to around 158,000 dollars. So we’d better stick with Count Dracula’s castle.
Featured image: Miniwark, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
