By T & R Direct
Buying a home nowadays costs an arm and a leg and a few other body parts thrown in. We all dream of our perfect home, the one you'd buy if you won the lottery. Looking at the world's wealthiest homes it's easy to see how your home can be your castle, literally.
It can't be easy keeping up with the Jones' if you live next door to Updown Court in Surrey. Updown Court is the most expensive home in the world (on the market for $122.2m or £70m). Infamously lavish, the mansion is set in 58 acres and with 103-rooms, going to the loo could be a bit of an adventure. It has five swimming pools, a heated marble driveway, and is bigger than Hampton Court Palace or Buckingham Palace, so you could, if you were wealthy enough, live in a bigger gaff than the Queen!
The UK, USA and France have the most expensive homes in the world. London is considered to be the capital of the world for real estate, as it attracts Eastern Europe, Europe and the Americas.
The World's Top Five most expensive homes for sale, according to Forbes, are in:
1. Windlesham, England $122.2 million
2. Bridgehampton, N.Y. $75 million
3. New York, N.Y. $70 million
4. Malibu, California $65 million
5. London, England $61.1 million
And new price-busting mansions keep popping up all over the world – not surprising when you consider the number of billionaires has gone from 140, twenty years ago, to 793.
Privacy is an extravagance and space costs - especially if you are a celebrity.
Elvis Presley's Graceland is probably one of the most visited celebrity homes in history. The 14-acre Memphis, Tennessee estate celebrates the most celebrated rock star in the world. Celebrity means serious real estate.
The Pitt
Before their well-publicised divorce, Jennifer Anniston and Brad Pitt bought a Wallace Neff-designed estate in Beverly Hills (it was on the market for $28 million when they split up). That'll buy you 10,000 square feet of space, a cinema, tennis court, outdoor fireplace, pool and spa.
Clooney's Gaff
George Clooney showed some European flair when he bought his house in Lake Como, Italy. It was a one time rumour that his pal Brad Pitt would marry his new girlfriend Angelina Jolie at the lakeside estate. His 25-room villa has an outdoor theatre, swimming pool and a large garage for his state-of-the-art motorcycles.
Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams
Heath may have been nominated for an Oscar for Brokeback Mountain with his co-star and wife, Michelle, but the pair chose a relatively humble property – a four-storey brownstone in Brooklyn, New York. Still for a couple in their mid-twenties, spending $3.5 million on your first home together isn't bad going!
Madonna
The ultimate material girl and the highest paid woman in music bought an English Manor in 2001 in Wiltshire with hubby Guy Ritchie. At 1,200-acres, she has the resources and space for fishing and horse riding. Last year, she bought a £1.6million ‘gift' – a Georgian mansion to be used as a hotel and drop-in centre for the controversial Kabbalah religious sect.
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