This sky-scraping 27-story mansion in Mumbai, India, recently made headlines for its elevated gardens — and sky-high price tag. But the reported $1 billion vertical behemoth is only a more extreme example of the latest in outrageous luxury living: Screening rooms, swimming pools, wine cellars and gym/spa facilities are de rigueur for the homes listed here. What follows are a few of the world's most expensive residences. And if you're feeling tempted, we'll add that several of these are for sale. Just don't settle for anything less than a ballroom of your own.
World's Most Expensive Homes
World's Most Expensive Homes
Villa Leopolda
Location: French Riviera
Price tag: $750 million, rumored in 2008
Estimated value today: $524 million
Built in 1902 by the Belgian King Leopold II for his mistress, this 29,000 square foot home has been owned by fabulously wealthy families over the years. The villa is located right by the water and there are spectacular views from its many balconies and terraces. Modern amenities in this 11-bedroom, 14-bath estate include fireplaces, a sauna, an outdoor kitchen and a pool house. The Villa Leopolda was also a location in Alfred Hitchcock's 1955 hit To Catch a Thief, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.
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World's Most Expensive Homes
The Antilla
Location: Mumbai, India
Price tag: $1 billion
Estimated value today: Unknown
The most expensive home in the world is 27 stories high, with a 160-car garage and more square footage that the Palace of Versailles. Owned by Mukesh Ambani, age 53 and the richest man in India, he lives in this skyscraper mansion with his wife, three children and 600 servants. Amenities include a private gym, ballroom, 50-seat movie theater, private health spa, multiple swimming pools and three helicopter pads on the roof. Must be nice.
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World's Most Expensive Homes
Hearst Mansion
Location: Beverly Hills, CA
Price tag: $165 million when it was listed for sale in 2007
Estimated value today: $95 million
Previously owned by press tycoon William Randolph Hearst, the Hearst mansion has 29 bedrooms, three swimming pools and 72,000 square feet of living space. The estate is broken up into six separate residences on 6.5 acres.
A house as famous as its owner, the Hearst mansion or "Beverly House Compound" has been used as a set in several popular films, including The Godfather, The Bodyguard and The Jerk. Additionally, John F. Kennedy and wife Jackie spent part of their honeymoon there.
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World's Most Expensive Homes
The Manor
Location: Holmby Hills, Los Angeles
Price tag: $12 million to build it in 1988
Estimated value today: $150 million
The 56,000-square-foot Los Angeles mansion of the late, legendary television producer Aaron Spelling, was built on the site of Bing Crosby's home, in a French chateau-style covering over 4.7 acres, and is widely acknowledged to be the largest home in Los Angeles County. Reports indicate the home boasts over 100 rooms, but Spelling's widow Candy has said that she isn't sure how many rooms there are now. Here's what we do know: There's a bowling alley, a wine storage and tasting room, a gift-wrapping room, a humidity-controlled silver storage room, a library, gym and media room. The Spellings also finished the 17,000-square-foot attic, which is beauty-central, with a barber shop and beauty salon.
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World's Most Expensive Homes
Updown Court
Location: Windlesham, Surrey, UK
Price tag: $110 million in 2005
Estimated value today: $139 million
Larger in area than Buckingham Palace, there are 103 rooms (and 24 bedrooms) in this 40,000 square foot mansion. Amenities include a two-lane bowling alley, five swimming pools, squash court, tennis court, wine cellar, panic room and 50-seat movie theater. There's also an underground garage with granite floors and enough room for eight limos. Left essentially a shell after a devastating fire in 1987, Updown Court was completely rebuilt in 2002.
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World's Most Expensive Homes
Dracula's Castle
Location: Romania
Price tag: $135 million in 2007, but the castle was later turned into a museum by royal heir (and NY architect) Archduke Dominic Habsburg.
Estimated value today: Unknown
A top tourist attraction in Romania "Dracula's Castle" (a/k/a Bran Castle) was built in the 14th century on top of a 200 foot high rock. The castle has about 60 rooms, and supposed ties to Prince Vlad the Impaler, the medieval warlord who inspired Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula. The property was confiscated from Princess Ileana in 1948 by the Soviets but has since been returned to the rightful heir, Archduke Dominic Habsburg. He has turned the castle into a museum.
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