Speaking of most expensive residences, some people may think of the Billionaire Row (57th Street) in New York City, penthouses on those supertall towers can cost over $100 million. In January 2019, a penthouse on 220 Central Park South was sold for $238 million, breaking the record of the most expensive residence sold in the United States. And in September 2022, the penthouse on Central Park Tower hit the market with an asking price of $250 million, which would set a new record if someone buys it.
However, those penthouses are not as expensive as the houses listed below, Central Park Tower penthouse is only the 7th most expensive residence in the world.
Below are the most expensive houses in the world as of 2023, not all of them are traditional houses, but may sit on high-rise buildings.
Note: This article is all about private residences, not all types of buildings, for most expensive buildings, see 5 most expensive buildings in the world.
1. Antilia
Value: $2 ~ 3 billion
Antilia is a high-rise residential building in Mumbai, the building is 173 meters (568 ft) tall and is owned and used by a single family (the family of Mukesh Ambani, an Indian business tycoon and the richest person in Asia).
Antilia is named after a mythical island in the Atlantic Ocean, and was designed by Chicago-based architects Perkins & Will.
The mansion has 27 floors, the floor count is low for a 568-foot-high building, this is because a lot of floors have extra-high ceilings, normal buildings of the same height usually have about 50 floors. The total floor area of the building is 400,000 square feet, surpasses that of the Palace of Versailles.
Aside from normal living spaces, Antilia features a health spa, a ballroom, a salon, swimming pools, terraced gardens, dance studios, guest suites, a 50-seat theater, and even a temple, a staff of 600 is maintaining the mansion every day.
There is a six-level parking garage below the ground level, and three helipads are on the roof of the building.
Many medias report that this high-rise mansion overlooks a slum area, this is not true, in fact Antilia is located on Altamount Road, one of the most expensive addresses in the world.
2. Villa Leopolda
Value: $750 million
Villa Leopolda is a large palatial villa in the Alpes-Maritimes on the French Riviera, the villa is named after Belgium's King Leopold II, who once owned the estate on which the villa is built, the current building was designed and built in 1931 by an American architect.
The villa sits on an area of 20 acres, it has 11 bedrooms and features a greenhouse, an outdoor kitchen, a swimming pool, a helipad and a series of cascading terraces.
In 1987 the villa was purchased by Lebanese banker Edmond Safra, who died in an arsonist's fire in 1999, his widow Lily Safra inherited the house and is its current owner.
3. 24 Middle Gap Road, Hong Kong
Value: $446 million
This house is relatively humble compared to those palatial houses mentioned above.
Built in 1991, the house is quite old and looks not fancy at all. The size of the house is modest, it has only 4 bedrooms. And the parking can only hold two cars, maybe the only thing looks luxurious is a swimming pool that sits in front of the house.
What the house does offer is an exclusive location, the exaggerate price is more about the land it is on than the house itself, the 16,330 square-feet of land is in Hong Kong's exclusive Peak neighborhood, which is one of Hong Kong’s most sought-after enclaves. The house offers great views of Aberdeen Upper Reservoir and the Deep Water Bay.
4. Villa Les Cedres
Value: $410 million
Villa Les Cedres is a mansion on the coast of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in France, the mansion was built in 1830, has a history of nearly two centuries.
The mansion was initially owned by the mayor of Villefranche-sur-Mer, in 1904 the Belgian King Leopold II purchased it from the descendants of the mayor.
Villa Les Cedres is named for cedar trees (cèdres in French), which are planted on the sides of a winding path that leads to the gate of the villa.
The property sits on a 35-acres area, it includes a garden that surrounds the house, the garden has a vast man-made pond with Amazonian lily pads.
The house has 14 bedrooms and 18,000 square feet of floor area.
It also comes with an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a stable big enough for 30 horses, a chandelier-lit ballroom and a wood-paneled library holding 3,000 books on flora and naturalism.
The villa is built on a prime location along the coast, it offers its residents the beautiful views of the Mediterranean Sea and the Alps, and panoramic views of the nearby villages.
5. Palais Bulles
Value: $390 million
This uniquely shaped mansion is composed of a series of bubble-like structures and perches on a rocky cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The bubble shape makes the walls and ceilings of the interior rooms have no edges and corners, which is very novel. The house is located in Théoule-sur-Mer, near Cannes, it has a history of over 30 years, built between 1975 and 1989.
The mansion has a living area of 1,200 square meters, with 10 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, 3 swimming pools and several gardens, and even an open-air amphitheater that can accommodate 500 spectators.
The famous French fashion designer Pierre Cardin bought this mansion from its original owner, a French industrialist, in 1991, but he almost never lived in it, only used it for some activities and exhibitions. He rent it out for more than $30,000 a day in his absence. In recent years, some fashion brands held fashion shows in the mansion. Cardin began to put this mansion on the market with an asking price of 350 million euros in 2017, but it was not sold until his death in 2020.
6. Sky Penthouse At Odeon Tower
Value: $335 million
This is a penthouse that sits on the top of a 49-story skyscraper in Monaco, the skyscraper was built in 2015 and named Tour Odéon (In English: Odeon Tower). At 557 ft (170 m) tall, it’s the second tallest building on Europe’s Mediterranean coastline.
The penthouse has 5 floors, the total floor area reaches 35,500 square feet. Its resident will not have to walk up and down stairs to get from floor to floor, there’s a private elevator in the penthouse.
The penthouse has breathtaking views over the sea, and the panoramic view of the city of Monaco. The first floor of the penthouse has an outdoor swimming pool, the pool is linked to the second floor by a water slide.
7. Central Park Tower Penthouse
Value: $250 million
This penthouse is located on the top of the 1550-ft-tall Central Park Tower in New York City, which is built in 2022, and is currently the world’s tallest residential building, also the tallest building in America by roof height. It's listed for $250 million, the most expensive in the United States.
The penthouse is a triplex, spanning the 129th to 131st floors of the tower, with more than 17,500 square feet of living area. It has 7 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, 3 powder rooms, there's a 2,000-square-foot ballroom on the top floor with 27-foot high ceilings.
The best thing offered by the penthouse is the 360-degree views of the city, it's the highest viewpoint in the city, higher than every public observation deck in the city. And since the tower is built on the southern edge of Central Park, it gets the best view of the park, which appears like a large green mat spreading out below the tower.
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