Inside the most expensive house in the world
Mukesh Ambani is the second-richest man in India, and his private residence is estimated to be valued at $1,000,000,000; but some estimates put its value at about $2,000,000,000. Forbes puts Ambani's net worth at about $85,000,000,000 -- which puts him at the 10th richest in the world.
Ambani is the Chairman for Reliance Industries, which has a number of different arms in various industries including oil, gas, retail, telecom and petrochemicals. The company was founded by his dad, who was a yarn trader, in the 1960s. After the passing of his father, Ambani and his brother expanded the company.
Ambani is the Chairman for Reliance Industries, which has a number of different arms in various industries including oil, gas, retail, telecom and petrochemicals. The company was founded by his dad, who was a yarn trader, in the 1960s. After the passing of his father, Ambani and his brother expanded the company.
VIDEO: A look inside the $1bn home
Where is the world's most expensive home located?
The most expensive home on earth, named after the mythical island Antilia, is in Mumbai.
What's inside of the most expensive house in the world?
While many of the most expensive houses in the world have been highly publicized with photos released to magazines like Architectural Digest, the Antilia skyscraper home is cloaked in mystery and mythology.
Over the years, we've seen stories about the most expensive homes on top-10 lists, and many of them include amenities like a revolving dance floor, basketball court, bowling alley, outdoor kitchen, koi pond, private water slide, health spa, remote controlled wall artwork, wine cellar, and the list goes on. But for Antilia, the only known renderings of the property are unconfirmed sketches.
Over the years, we've seen stories about the most expensive homes on top-10 lists, and many of them include amenities like a revolving dance floor, basketball court, bowling alley, outdoor kitchen, koi pond, private water slide, health spa, remote controlled wall artwork, wine cellar, and the list goes on. But for Antilia, the only known renderings of the property are unconfirmed sketches.
Are there any houses in the world as large as Antilia?
Antilia is reported to be a 400,000 square foot home. While it's true that the British royal family has Buckingham Palace as their crown property, it's not really a fair comparison. Even though Buckingham Palace is technically 800,000 square feet and valued more expensive than Antilia, it's part of the British government. The British royal family didn't earn the money to buy the palace, so we can't lump it in on the top-10 list. Antilia was built with privately earned money.
Does the Mumbai Antilia skyscraper home have an indoor pool?
A number of different websites have written stories about the official residence of Ambani and his family, but even the most purely devoted writer can't be sure of the amenities; but here is what has been reported:
One might expect that a residence like this one that's listed as one of the world's most impressive houses would have even more to offer, and it probably does. It's reasonable to conclude that there would be a tea house, tennis courts, grand sitting rooms, an ice cream room for kids, guest bedrooms, squash courts, a pool house, and perhaps some Turkish baths. We can even imagine small armies of personal assistants standing around waiting to serve you.
- It has 27 floors but is taller than a building with that many stories
- The car storage can hold up to 168 vehicles
- Antilia has its own in-house car service repair shop
- A 50-seat private movie theater
- Numerous swimming pools
- A multi-level health club with personal trainers
- A 600-member staff (about 100 domestic staff for each resident)
- Double height ceilings (that's why it's much taller than a 27-story building)
- A ballroom and yoga studio
- Crystal chandelier ceilings
- Multiple “safe” rooms (aka Panic rooms)
- There are numerous gardens (indoor and outdoor)
- A helicopter pad (It has been reported that there is three, but there actually is only one)
One might expect that a residence like this one that's listed as one of the world's most impressive houses would have even more to offer, and it probably does. It's reasonable to conclude that there would be a tea house, tennis courts, grand sitting rooms, an ice cream room for kids, guest bedrooms, squash courts, a pool house, and perhaps some Turkish baths. We can even imagine small armies of personal assistants standing around waiting to serve you.
Does Antilia have its very own power plant?

All large buildings of this sort have a number of systems in place to keep it running. If you have three swimming pools that need to be heated, then power systems will be in place to help mitigate problems.
Other estates that are listed on the "most expensive house in the world" list also have backup systems: Four Fairfield Pond, Buckingham Palace, Villa Les Cèdres, Les Palais Bulles (aka the Bubble Palace with round rooms on the French Riviera), Odeon Tower Penthouse, Villa Leopolda, and "The One" in Beverly Hills.
Other estates that are listed on the "most expensive house in the world" list also have backup systems: Four Fairfield Pond, Buckingham Palace, Villa Les Cèdres, Les Palais Bulles (aka the Bubble Palace with round rooms on the French Riviera), Odeon Tower Penthouse, Villa Leopolda, and "The One" in Beverly Hills.
Who designed Mukesh Ambani's home in India?
A Chicago-based architecture firm named Perkins & Will takes the honor. While most websites list them as the sole hospitality design firm to help erect the skyscraper home, many more companies were involved. One of those companies includes Hirsch Bedner Associates in Los Angeles.
Does the Ambani family have more than one dwelling?
It's safe to say that any multibillion-dollar family will have many different estates to live in. Bill Gates, for example, is one of the largest landowners in his own country and has many expensive houses all over the world; and don't forget that each one will need an estate manager.
Because billionaires are always trying to out-compete each other, it's possible one day in the future that Antilia could become the second most expensive house in the world because some billionaire could surpass it.
Because billionaires are always trying to out-compete each other, it's possible one day in the future that Antilia could become the second most expensive house in the world because some billionaire could surpass it.
Are there any drawbacks to owning an expensive home like Antilia?

Yes, of course. The upkeep to such a large estate is astronomical. They have 600 staff members, which is on par with a 5-star hotel. In fact, several floors of the building are dedicated just to staff. Many of these domestic workers need to use their own private elevator to get from floor to floor, which is what the top hotels also do because workers should not be using the same elevators as the VIPs.
The downside to having a building like Antilia -- it's in a vertical building, which means you can't have free poles, a guest house, hillside grounds, or an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Who knows, maybe Mukesh Ambani will become a successful real estate entrepreneur and give up making chemicals.
The downside to having a building like Antilia -- it's in a vertical building, which means you can't have free poles, a guest house, hillside grounds, or an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Who knows, maybe Mukesh Ambani will become a successful real estate entrepreneur and give up making chemicals.
How much does it cost to have a domestic staff of 600 people?

While it does seem exorbitant to have an estate with 600 domestic staff, let's put it into perspective. An employee at a five-star hotel in a Western country could be making as much as $25 an hour (about $48,000 a year). That would equal almost $29,000,000 a year in wages for all of the staff. But don't forget that workers in India would be paid only $100 or $200 a month. That's what one worker in a Western country would make in one day!
So, while it may sound wild to have 600 staff members, all things considered, it's not that much money. The biggest headache of it all is the logistics of it. The super-mansion needs a Chief of Staff just to coordinate all of the people. Additionally, you need to feed and house all of those staff as well, so it is a very challenging task to say the least.
The biggest drawback to having so many domestic staffing workers is that the family won't have much privacy because everyone is in the same building together. In a Western country, there would be two semi-detached houses for all of the staff members.
So, while it may sound wild to have 600 staff members, all things considered, it's not that much money. The biggest headache of it all is the logistics of it. The super-mansion needs a Chief of Staff just to coordinate all of the people. Additionally, you need to feed and house all of those staff as well, so it is a very challenging task to say the least.
The biggest drawback to having so many domestic staffing workers is that the family won't have much privacy because everyone is in the same building together. In a Western country, there would be two semi-detached houses for all of the staff members.
Filed Under: dream property, expensive private residential home, wealthy families, lavish properties, most unique homes in the world