What Recession? World’s Most Expensive House Built

  • Share
  • Read Later
Frédéric Soltan / Corbis

It’s set to be quite a housewarming.

India’s richest man, and Forbes’s fourth richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has built the world’s most expensive house in Mumbai. It is estimated to be worth $1 billion.

The lavish building– named Antilia, after the mythical island– has 27 stories, is 173 meters high and has 37,000 square meters of floor space — more than the Palace of Versailles. It contains a health club with a gym and dance studio, at least one swimming pool, a ballroom, guestrooms, a variety of lounges and a 50-seater cinema. There are three helicopter pads on the roof and a car park for 160 vehicles on the ground floors. It’s obviously quite a job keeping all this running smoothly, so the house, if you can call it that, also boasts a staff of 600. And all this for just Ambani, his wife and their three children to enjoy.

(See some other Things Money Can Buy)

Experts are saying that there is no other private property of comparable size and prominence in the world, reports The Guardian. It has come as a surprise to some that Ambani, known as one of the more quite and down to earth of the world’s billionaires, would flash his immense wealth in such a public way, especially after India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, has called on business leaders to “eschew consumption” and “be role models of moderation.” – It’s very cool, but moderate this home is not.

(Read about Where To Get The Most Out Of Your Salary)