The Most Expensive Houses in the World — and Who Owns Them

Location: Montecito, California

Current Owner: Oprah Winfrey

Value: $88 million (USD)

Oprah Winfrey is reportedly worth nearly $3 billion and her Montecito mansion – dubbed Promised Land – is valued at $88M. Sitting on a lush 42-acre lot (with more than 600 rose bushes), the home boasts six bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, 10 fireplaces, a home theatre, tennis court, artificial pond, tea house, guesthouse and pool.

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Location: Beverly Hills, California

Current Owner: Daren Metropoulos

Value: $100 million (USD)

While the original Playboy Mansion was in Chicago, magazine founder Hugh Hefner bought the second Playboy Mansion back in 1971 for a mere $1.1 million. Hef, who died in September 2017, put the notorious party house on the market in 2016, asking $200 million – with the caveat that whoever purchased it would have to allow him to live out his final days there. The 12-bedroom home sits on five acres and includes such unique features as the infamous grotto.

Location: London, England

Current Owner: Queen Elizabeth II

Value: $2.9 billion (USD)/p>
The famed palace was built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham and became the official residence of the sovereign of England upon Queen Victoria’s ascension to the throne. A 2016 report valued Buckingham Palace at an estimated £2.2 billion or $2.9 billion (USD). Not only is the central London location absolutely primo, the 828,821-square-foot palace features 775 rooms on five floors, with other amenities including a fully equipped doctor’s surgery, swimming pool and 40 acres of manicured gardens. You can also peek inside Meghan Markle’s former LA home.

Location: San Simeon, California

Current Owner: California State Park

Value: $195 million (USD)

Constructed by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst (the inspiration for Orson Welles’ cinema classic Citizen Kane) on a 250,000-acre spread of California landscape, the 165-room estate was built to Hearst’s exact specifications to showcase his legendary art collection. When Hearst was forced to leave the home due to ill health in 1947, it still hadn’t been completed.

Location: London, England

Current Owner: Lakshmi Mittal

Value: $222 million (USD)

Located on Britain’s most expensive street (aka London’s “Billionaire’s Row”), this historic property is owned by Laksmi Mittal, who owns the world’s largest steel manufacturing company and is one of India’s richest men. The home is near Kensington Palace, home to Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. When Mittal purchased the home in 2004 for £67 million (US$128 million), it was declared to be the world’s most expensive home at the time. You can also take a peek inside Meghan Markle’s former Toronto home.

Location: Cote D’Azure, France

Current Owner: Lily Safra

Value: $750 million (USD)

Built in the 1920s atop King Leopold II’s villa, this spectacular home features an entrance hall with a large stone staircase inspired by the Chateau Borelli in Marseille and hosts eight luxurious suites and eight staff bedrooms. It also has a rich history. In addition to serving as a military hospital during the First World War, the home has been featured in such films as The Red Shoes and Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief.

Location: Mumbai, India

Current Owner: Mukesh Ambani

Value: $2 billion(USD); considered to be the most expensive private home in the world

If you’ve ever wondered what a $1-billion home looks like, it looks like this oddly-shaped tower in the heart of Mumbai, serving as the home of Mukesh Ambani (head of Reliance Industries Limited) and his family. The building is 27 storeys high and features an additional six storeys underground. With views of the Mumbai skyline, the 400,000-square-foot steel-and-glass home took seven years to build. The family’s living quarters take up the top six floors of the building, which also features nine high-speed elevators, a two-storey health centre and even an “ice room” where the family can enjoy an indoor, manmade snowstorm.

Location: Holmby Hills, California

Current Owner: Unknown buyer, previously owned by British heiress Petra Ecclestone and producer Aaron Spelling

Value: $150 million(USD)

One of LA’s most famous homes, this mega-mansion was built by iconic TV producer Aaron Spelling, creator of hits ranging from The Love Boat to Beverly Hills 90210. British heiress Petra Ecclestone purchased the home from Spelling’s widow, Candy Spelling, for $85M in 2011. The 57,000-square-foot home has 123 rooms, including 14 bedrooms, 27 bathrooms and the infamous gift-wrapping room. In 2019, Ecclestone sold the mansion to an unknown buyer for $120M.

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Location: Medina, Washington

Current Owners: Bill and Melinda Gates

Value: roughly $125.5 million(USD)

How’s this for an expensive house? It took seven years and $63 million to build the 66,000-square-foot home owned by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and wife Melinda (above, while still under construction). As you’d expect, there are a lot of unique features, including a 60-foot pool (housed in its own separate building) with underwater music system, a trampoline room with 20-foot ceilings, a high-tech theatre that can accommodate 20 guests, six kitchens and a massive library that houses the Codex Leicester, a 16th-century Leonardo da Vinci manuscript Gates bought at auction in 1994 for $30.8 million.

Location: Beverly Hills, California

Current Owner: Jeff Greene

Value: $129 million(USD)

LA real estate mogul Jeff Greene has been trying to sell his massive Beverly Hills compound for quite awhile – in spring 2017 he lowered the asking price by a whopping $66 million from the original price of $195 million to a relatively affordable $129 million. It’s still on the market today.

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Location: Beverly Hills, California

Current Owner: Steven Udvar Hazy

Value: $165 million(USD)

Located in the Beverly Park gated community, this 28,600-square-foot home was custom-built for billionaire Steven Udvar Hazy in the late 1990s – and is on the market for the first time ever.

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Designed by William Hablinski, the compound includes the massive main house, in addition to a two-storey guest house, cabana, full-size tennis court, additional sports court and a swimming pool, all on 12.5 acres. Want more? Check out these stunning celebrity bathrooms.

Location: Monaco

Current Owner: Groupe Marzocco

Value: $400 million(USD)

Estimates vary about the value of this luxury penthouse atop a 56-storey skyscraper in Monaco, which has been valued at somewhere between $387 million and $400 million. The five-storey penthouse boasts nearly 10,000 square feet of living space, as well as floor-to-ceiling windows offering stunning 360-degree views of Monaco. Other amenities include multiple swimming pools and a private staff including a chauffeur and caterer. The home is currently on the market and at present, does not have an owner.

Location: Sagaponack, New York

Current Owner: Ira Rennert

Value: $250 million(USD)

Home to billionaire Ira Rennert of the Renco Group, this sprawling estate sits on 63 acres in the Hamptons, about 95 miles outside of Manhattan. Constructed in the 1990s at a cost of $110 million, estimates vary as to the home’s specifications, which is said to contain between 21 and 29 bedrooms and between 18 and 39 bathrooms. Other features of note include 12 chimneys, a 91-foot-long dining room and a 10,000-square-foot “playhouse” that contains a basketball court, bowling alley, billiards room, two tennis courts and two squash courts.

Location: Beverly Hills, California

Current Owner: Unknown buyer; previously owned by Secure Capital Partners

Value: $650 million(USD)

Technically not so much a home as a big plot of vacant land, it’s arguably the most desirable pieces of land in all of Los Angeles, an area as large as Disneyland, perched high above a mountaintop offering spectacular panoramic views. Originally priced at a cool billion, a $350M price reduction brought the price down to a more affordable $650M – although, according to the Wall Street Journal, it ultimately sold in 2019 for a mere $100 thousand.