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Most expensive house-world record set
by La Leopolda
 French
Riviera, France-- Having the best views of the French seas,
close proximity to Monte Carlo, 10 acres of immaculate grounds
tended by 50 gardeners and cascading down to the resort of
Villefranche on the French Riviera...and a price tag of $500
million, La Leopolda sets the world record for the
most expensive house.
Photo:
villa La Leopolda (enlarge
photo)
The property is located in the village
of Villefranche, near Monte Carlo, sprawling over 40 dunams.
The
estate has an interesting history in the world of the uber-rich.
It was originally built for Belgium's King Leopold’s
mistresses, and past owners include the late banking magnate
Edmund Safra, Microsoft's Bill Gates and Fiat tycoon Gianni
Agnelli.
Recent
(false) rumors said it's just been bought by one of the world’s
richest men, billionaire Chelsea Football Club owner Roman
Abramovich. "The 41-year-old and his oil heiress
girlfriend Daria Zhukova, 25, fell in love with the palatial
villa during a private viewing."
"Absolutely, positively, not true," insists
Abramovich's spokesman from Moscow. "He already owns a house
in France, why would he want another one?"
...Maybe because when you’re worth an estimated
$22 billion, you can pretty much do what you like.
Roman
Abramovich owns the $30-million Chateau de la Croe
just down the road from La Leopolda, the hideaway where the
Duke of Windsor fled with Wallace Simpson in 1938.
Roman
Abramovich also has properties in Knightsbridge, Sussex
and Russia as well as private planes and super-yachts.
Saturday,
July 12, 2008
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