Once owned by King Leopold II, the world’s most expensive home has been listed for sale in Cap Ferrat, a star-studded peninsula in the south of France where famous locals include Elton John, Bono and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The world’s most expensive house has been listed for sale in the south of France for the eye-watering sum of £311 million (€350 million).
That’s 1375 times the average UK house price, according to the most recent Land Registry figures.
Villa Les Cèdres is a grand 14-bedroom mansion set in 35 acres on the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat coast near Nice, a star-studded peninsula best known for its glamorous holiday makers and aristocratic residents.
Inside, the panelled sitting rooms, library and ornamental chandeliers are of a decadent, ornate style – especially fitting for a home once owned by Belgian King Leopold II.
A king who, according to Bloomberg, greatly increased the size of the spectacular gardens still surrounding the home.
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Decadent style: the grand home is packed with antique furnishings, panelled walls and ornate chandeliers (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The home’s ornate furnishings can are also for sale, including a 1640 edition of a botanical codex worth several hundred thousand euros, which supports local estimates of the home’s total value nearing one billion euros.
It was built in 1830 and spans an impressive 18,000sq ft, with a rooftop terrace and wraparound balconies providing panoramic views of nearby town Villefranche-sur-Mer and towards the Alps.
The property’s owner, Italian distiller Davide Campari-Milano SpA, believes: “the combination of history, luxury, and a prime location along the coast of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat will be enough to make it the most expensive residential sale in history,” according to Bloomberg.
Set between the millionaire’s playgrounds of Nice and Monte Carlo, the French Riviera region is a sought-after holiday home destination for several A-listers, with Elton John, Bono and Andrew Lloyd Webber all owning luxury homes nearby.
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Royally opulent: the former residence of King Leopold II has private gardens and a huge swimming pool (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
If Villa Les Cèdres is purchased for close to the asking price, this will be the most expensive residential property in the world.
Earlier this year, the most expensive house in America was listed for sale for a cool £270 million ($350 million).
The sprawling 10-acre Chartwell estate is in Bel Air, the Los Angeles neighbourhood famous for its multi-million pound homes and super-rich inhabitants.
The most expensive home ever sold in the UK is a £90 million apartment at 199 Knightsbridge, bought by 36-year-old Capital and Heart FM founder Ashley Tabor.
In 2006 he spent £15.2 million on a four-bedroom apartment at The Knightsbridge. In May this year he bought a second, six-bedroom property for a reported £90 million. Stamp duty of £13.5 million pushes the second purchase above £100 million.
He promptly applied for permission to combine the two flats into a 15,000sq ft home, 10 times the space in an average three-bedroom terrace house. If he succeeds, it would create one of the most valuable apartments in the world.
