These are the 3 most expensive houses in the world, just out of curiosity.
Number 3: Updown Court
103-room mansion includes a bowling alley, squash court, 50-seat movie theater and five swimming pools. The mansion totals 40,000 square feet and features a 24-carat gold leaf mosaic floor among its 22 bedrooms and 27 baths. A heated marble driveway winds up to the mansion, through part of the estate's 60 acres. Price: $85 million pounds.
Number2: The Penthouses at One Hyde Park
ÂTechnically, the world's second-most most expensive home doesn't exist yet. It's being built and is planned to be completed and ready for sale by 2010 -- at the staggering price tag of 100 million pounds (more than $200 million). The penthouse will sit atop the swanky flats of One Hyde Park, a skyscrapper development in London's richest quarter. This posh penthouse will be the upstairs-neighbor to 82 other apartments in the building, half of which have been sold for an average of around 20 million pounds (about $40 million), or approximately 6,000 pounds (about $12,000) per square foot.
To protect against unwanted intruders, residents of the building will be protected by watchmen from the British SAS (Special Forces) members and security features such as bullet-proof windows and iris scanners. The building itself has emergency exits leading to an underground tunnel to the nearby Mandarin Oriental Hotel, but the penthouse's residents could simply mosey to their panic rooms. During less stressful times, One Hyde Park dwellers can bathe in communal spas, play on the squash courts or drink wine in tasting rooms. Reports of the pending penthouse also include floor-to-ceiling refrigerators and 24-hour room service for when residents don't feel like cooking.
Number 1: Antilla
The record for most expensive house in the world will be set officially in 2009, when Indian trillionaire Mukesh Ambani and his family move into their newly built home: Antilla. This record could stand for a very long time. At a cost of $1 billion, Ambani's 27-story tower -- complete with helipad on top -- dwarfs the next most expensive home, both financially and in stature. Forget going to the gym -- the Ambanis will have their own health club. And their friends can drop by in droves because the six-floor garage will hold 168 cars. The tower will be 570 feet tall, and mostly glass. The ultra-modern mansion will feature panic rooms, a movie theater and a staff of 600 servants. And because each floor is double the average height, Antilla will technically be 60 stories tall. The towering house isn't too disconnected from nature: Each level will have lush gardens. It seems a refuge fit for a shy man referred to as "a modern-day Howard Hughes".
So what's your choice? I'd personally go with the Updown Court just because it's more to my liking.
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