Shakespeare.
The Beatles.
The Queen, Prince William, and
Kate Middleton. Fish'n'chips served in a
centuries-old London pub.
England has a lot going for it and one of my and one of my favorite countries in the world just added to its international bragging rights: It is now home to the most expensive apartment (also known as a "flat") in the world.
According to the Daily Mail, a flat sold for £140 million pounds, or roughly $216.2 million, and the buyer's identity is unknown to the public.
The two-floor penthouse is located outside of London at One Hyde Park. The amenities include features you'd expect with a price tag that high: 24-hour room service from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel (attached by tunnel) where celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal (start drooling now over his Michelin 3-star restaurant, the Fat Duck) will cater to every whim, a private wine-tasting facility, and security that would make James Bond jealous.
The unit is equipped with "bullet-proof windows, SAS-trained security guards, an air purifier to frustrate poison gas attacks and a panic room where owners can retreat in safety should they be targeted by kidnappers or robbers."
Live in any of the 86 units in the pricey development and these are some of the insane perks that come with your multimillion dollar purchase:
- Heating from geothermal bore holes sunk 450 ft into the ground to "extract heat from the Earth's crust." Toasty enough for you?
- A McLaren Formula One car showroom on the ground level
- 15 different types of imported stone from Turkey, Italy, France, Belgium, Egypt and more are used throughout the buildings
- Eye-scanners in private elevators to prevent intruders
The average cost for the other units sold was just £20 million. Sound like your dream home? Better move quickly: Two-thirds of the units have already been sold (one to the
Qatari prime minister).
Brothers
Nick and Christian Candy bought the site-previously an office space-for £150 million in 2004 then developed it into these luxury flats. Talk about getting a return on an investment.
But their One Hyde Park Flat may not actually be the most expensive home in the world. According to the Mail Online, they also just sold the most expensive penthouse - in Monaco. (Yes, they're billionaires.) This is the Lily Safra penthouse that was reportedly sold for £200 million.
(It appears that the Candy brothers are making a habit of selling the most expensive homes in the world, a lucrative business apparently not affected at all by the recession.)
Wonder what the real estate commission is on a place like that? And, the real estate taxes? And, the monthly maintenance?
If you have to ask ...
