The most expensive house in the world

[Blue Velvet]

Towering high above Mumbai and far from the teeming shanty towns, a billion-dollar home, an oasis of ultimate luxury, is being built for the world's fifth-richest man...

...Mr Ambani is reckoned to be the world's fifth-richest man and when his extraordinary property is completed in an estimated six months, the $1bn (£500m) building named Antilia will be the priciest house in the world.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/arrogance-or-elegance-the-most-expensive-house-in-the-world-851043.html


A report in the Mumbai Mirror revealed that the first six floors of the tower will be reserved for parking up to 168 cars, with the seventh floor set aside for vehicle maintenance. Above that will be an entertainment centre with a silver-domed ballroom and a cinema capable of seating 50 people. On the next floor up, comes a garden, then three floors with balconies, each with landscaped terraces of their own. The ninth floor will be an emergency room should they need to evacuate the building, while the two floors above that will house a fitness centre and gym. Any guests of the Ambanis will be catered for in the two floors above.

And perched atop of all this, with be the family quarters, home to Mukesh, his wife and their three children. Not forgetting his Indian roots, the world's fifth richest man has reportedly set aside one of those four floors for his mother, Kokilaben. Finally, the roof will serve as a helipad for up to three helicopters. There will be nine lifts and perhaps as many as 600 staff.


http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00033/IN4821783building_33993t.jpg



Shame it's so ugly. ;)

[bartelby]

Well, money can't buy you taste.

It can buy you a lot of booze though. Beer goggles work on architecture too.

EDIT: Having now seen the image I think even vodka goggles would be ineffective...

[mpw]

...Shame it's so ugly. ;)
And in response the 5th richest man in the world says...http://att.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=120673&stc=1&d=1213965855hatevar!

[NC MacGuy]

I'm sure it looks much better in person.:p

Good luck for resale on that pig.

[BoyBach]

I'm going to put on my socialist cap and proclaim:

"How does he sleep at night, literally - when it's built - looking down on the poor."


(P.S. Anybody else think that Mr Ambani is compensating for something?)

[iJohnHenry]

This farce of a building makes Dubai look like the Taj Mahal.

And if there is ever an earthquake there, the architect better run like hell.

[atszyman]

The ninth floor will be an emergency room should they need to evacuate the building

Wouldn't it make more sense that if you have a room for evacuation, that it would be closer to the ground? If you're going to try to evacuate from the 9th floor you'd think it would be cheaper to skip the evacuation floor altogether and just put base jumping parachutes by every window.

[PlaceofDis]

a bit extreme to me, but whatever, its his money in the end.

[Motley]

Wouldn't it make more sense that if you have a room for evacuation, that it would be closer to the ground? If you're going to try to evacuate from the 9th floor you'd think it would be cheaper to skip the evacuation floor altogether and just put base jumping parachutes by every window.

Escape Pods.

[ImNoSuperMan]

Shame it's so ugly. ;)

But atleast it`ll be distinct and unique. The only reason this house is this costly is coz he choose Mumbai, one of the costliest cities in the world in terms of real estate. But gotta admit it does looks like crap.

[egor]

I think it looks great, personally. It's almost got the look of a shanty town up in the air. Like a village in the sky.

At least he's doing something different, the biggest architectural criminals are housing estate developers where every house looks identical, bland and featureless. And the people who buy them are just as culpable for having no taste.

[Jaffa Cake]

Given how much has been spent on it, you would have thought they could have stretched to an extra wall or two.

[Abstract]

It looks like he played Tetris, messed up really bad and got a **** score, did a screen capture, and said, "Yo, this is what I want my house to look like. Do it. Do it."

[Queso]

I get what he's doing. It doesn't matter how plush everyone else's homes may be in the Mumbai of the future, he's the only one that won't have this monstrosity marring his view. Therefore he's always officially got the nicest home in the city :D

[Neil321]

Looks like something out of legoland to me, money cant buy you good taste

[netdog]

I'm going to put on my socialist cap and proclaim:

"How does he sleep at night, literally - when it's built - looking down on the poor."

Quite comfortably from the looks of it.

[brad.c]

It's hard to appreciate the scale of such conspicuous consumption from my little shanty.

[mpw]

...And if there is ever an earthquake there, the architect better run like hell.

Ooo I didn't spot the obvious design/construction flaw missed by the professional architects, engineers, building control officials etc., what was it?

...or are you just assuming you know better 'cause you saw something you didn't like on the internet?

[Queso]

Mumbai isn't in an active Earthquake zone. The chances of a quake there are roughly the same as in Belgium :p

[Neil321]

Mumbai isn't in an active Earthquake zone. The chances of a quake there are roughly the same as in Belgium :p

There was a pretty big one in england ( by english standards ) a little while back so it's a possibility

[eMace]

I'm going to put on my socialist cap and proclaim:

"How does he sleep at night, literally - when it's built - looking down on the poor."

Quite comfortably from the looks of it.



on a soft pile of money probably

[~Shard~]

I like my home better, thank you very much. ;) :)

[iJohnHenry]

Ooo I didn't spot the obvious design/construction flaw missed by the professional architects, engineers, building control officials etc., what was it?

...or are you just assuming you know better 'cause you saw something you didn't like on the internet?

I said I didn't like it, right up front.

But the "W" about mid-height gives me pause.

[Antares]

That's sickening. There's so much more you can do with that amount of money. The people you could help. The research you could fund.

[MrSmith]

Who cares what it looks like outside? It's the inside that counts (pictures around - here (http://www.overseaspropertymall.com/trends/overseas-property-trends/take-a-peek-into-the-first-billion-dollar-home/) for example).

But, yeah.

That's sickening. There's so much more you can do with that amount of money. The people you could help. The research you could fund.

It's hard to argue with that.

[Blue Velvet]

It's the inside that counts.

Equally ugly and graceless.

[Abstract]

That's sickening. There's so much more you can do with that amount of money. The people you could help. The research you could fund.

He could have bought 50 awesome houses. What an ass! Clearly he doesn't know how to spend his own money.


The inside is also dreadful. It's cold, and not the interior of a place I could call 'home'.

[MrSmith]

Equally ugly and graceless.
Such a rich and important family have many important guests attend and events to host. Tell me you wouldn't like your guests to wallow in that kind of luxury.

[Blue Velvet]

Tell me you wouldn't like your guests to wallow in that kind of luxury.

Luxury and taste are not synonymous.

[MrSmith]

Taste is a pointless, subjective concern over whether you'd like to be seen dead in such a place. Luxury is being comfortable. I'd say that's far more important. In these particular photos there was nothing garish; no eyesores. Sure, it looked more like a hotel but I'd trade my box anytime, regardless of whether it conforms to what I've put in my 'Good taste' pigeonhole.

[Queso]

Who cares what it looks like outside? It's the inside that counts (pictures around - here (http://www.overseaspropertymall.com/trends/overseas-property-trends/take-a-peek-into-the-first-billion-dollar-home/) for example).
That would be like living in a wedding reception. Not for me I'm afraid.

[calculus]

Luxury and taste are not synonymous.

That's certainly clear from the interior photographs!

That would be like living in a wedding reception. Not for me I'm afraid.

That's exactly what it looks like!

I couldn't live there.

[Zwhaler]

At least he built up, so he doesn't waste square feets on that land. But then again, everyone has to look at it now.

[BlakTornado]

There was a pretty big one in england ( by english standards ) a little while back so it's a possibility

Oh yeah :rolleyes:

It wasn't too far away from me.

Made the old grannies' false teeth fall out, and gave the roof tiles a bit of a wobble. :P

I hardly think it was enough to make a building fall down ;)

I have a feeling Mr.Rich will be safe. :P

[Keebler]

ok...so the house/building isn't the most attractive, but what scares me is 'the emergency floor' for evacuations?

scary part of the world to live there it must be... :eek:

[teflon]

I actually quite like the building, both interior and exterior. Then again, I love hotels and odd skyscrapers. I think the exterior is quite unique and cool, and the interior looks pretty amazing.
I would have less garage space though. How many times, if at all, are you going to have 168 cars?
Is there no yard?

[Neil321]

Oh yeah :rolleyes:

It wasn't too far away from me.

Made the old grannies' false teeth fall out, and gave the roof tiles a bit of a wobble. :P

I hardly think it was enough to make a building fall down ;)

I have a feeling Mr.Rich will be safe. :P

yer i know but i was only pointing out the fact that they can & do happen in countries you least expect them ( see below )

Mumbai isn't in an active Earthquake zone. The chances of a quake there are roughly the same as in Belgium :p

I actually quite like the building, both interior and exterior. Then again, I love hotels and odd skyscrapers. I think the exterior is quite unique and cool, and the interior looks pretty amazing.
I would have less garage space though. How many times, if at all, are you going to have 168 cars?
Is there no yard?

I think the bloke who designed it must have tripping at the time myself

[d_and_n5000]

Good God. That's just wrong.

I personally can't wait until one of this guy's kids gets into an elevator and can't find their way back to their living quarters. They'd have to stage an all-out search and rescue just to find the kid in it's own house!

[Phil A.]

That's sickening. There's so much more you can do with that amount of money. The people you could help. The research you could fund.

I understand what you are saying, but why shouldn't he spend money he's earned on himself? When governments are wasting billions of pounds every year, why should it fall to private individuals to right the wrongs of the world?

[iJohnHenry]

... but what scares me is 'the emergency floor' for evacuations?
Perhaps a translation issue??

It could be a "safe room", but in this case an entire floor, for the occupants to go in case of civil unrest/criminal activity/etc.

I note that this floor is below all those, to me, scary stilts. :eek:

[Queso]

ok...so the house/building isn't the most attractive, but what scares me is 'the emergency floor' for evacuations?

scary part of the world to live there it must be... :eek:
Even prosperous crime-free suburban neighbourhoods occasionally have a house burn down.

[ErikCLDR]

Wow, makes the people with selling their $125,000,000 house in Darien or New Canaan, CT look like trailer park trash. :p

[teflon]

Even prosperous crime-free suburban neighbourhoods occasionally have a house burn down.

Why would you want to be stuck on the 9th floor if your house was burning down?
I always thought that the emergency room is in the basement, so that when there are hurricanes or earthquakes and floods and whatnots you'll be safe underground.

[Queso]

Why would you want to be stuck on the 9th floor if your house was burning down?
At a guess I would say that the 9th floor is the height that can be reached by the Mumbai Fire Brigade's ladders, whilst still being high enough that the inhabitants of the building do not have to overexert themselves to reach.

[Eraserhead]

I get what he's doing. It doesn't matter how plush everyone else's homes may be in the Mumbai of the future, he's the only one that won't have this monstrosity marring his view. Therefore he's always officially got the nicest home in the city :D

Good point.

The only reason this house is this costly is coz he choose Mumbai, one of the costliest cities in the world in terms of real estate.

I'm sure that other cities with expensive homes such as London, New York, Geneva and Moscow are all considerably more expensive.

Taste is a pointless, subjective concern over whether you'd like to be seen dead in such a place.

Taste is how the rich judge themselves against each other, its one of the few things money can't buy.

[true777]

Wow -- this has to be one of the ugliest $1m+ houses in the world.
What an atrocity. Both the outside and the inside look dated even now, and it is just too obvious that this building is not in any way, shape or form built for comfort and tranquility, but solely for bragging rights. And even for bragging rights it is done badly and in pretty much the ugliest, least inspired and least tasteful way possible. He could have hired the world's best architects and done something amazing, gorgeous, beautiful. But this abhorrent monstrosity? I find the interior even worse if that's possible -- how much more gaudy and outdated could you possibly get? What a shame, and a waste of opportunity.

[iJohnHenry]

I've seen this before, when the User is allowed to run-amok, unchecked.

[sushi]

http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00033/IN4821783building_33993t.jpg
Thanks for sharing.

Personally, I like it.

a bit extreme to me, but whatever, its his money in the end.
Agreed about being exteme. But as you say, it's his money.

At least he's doing something different, the biggest architectural criminals are housing estate developers where every house looks identical, bland and featureless. And the people who buy them are just as culpable for having no taste.
So true.

Quite comfortably from the looks of it.
:D

I like my home better, thank you very much. ;) :)
Myself as well.

One thing that is a complete turnoff for me is that he must have a huge staff to maintain that place. No privacy. Of course for someone like him, that is the least of his worries.

I do like his extended private parking for family and friends. :)

That's sickening. There's so much more you can do with that amount of money. The people you could help. The research you could fund.
It's his money and there is nothing wrong with him using it this way if he so chooses.

Equally ugly and graceless.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. :)

[iJohnHenry]

"Looks may fade, but ugly lasts forever."

Or until it falls down, whichever occurs first.

[aLoC]

It doesn't look safe to me.

[dllavaneras]

And perched atop of all this, with be the family quarters, home to Mukesh, his wife and their three children. Not forgetting his Indian roots, the world's fifth richest man has reportedly set aside one of those four floors for his mother, Kokilaben.

So all that space, all that money spent, all those fancy techno gadgets, helipads, 6 floors of parking, etc. for just 6 people? Unless you're throwing parties 24/7/365 and have a lot of (real) friends that come over frequently, that definitely seems like a waste.

[hubristol]

What an entirely ostentatious display of (and waste of) wealth.

[teflon]

So all that space, all that money spent, all those fancy techno gadgets, helipads, 6 floors of parking, etc. for just 6 people? Unless you're throwing parties 24/7/365 and have a lot of (real) friends that come over frequently, that definitely seems like a waste.

Well, they do have those 600 staff ;).

[JML42691]

The point, he will never see that money back if he sells it.

[hubristol]

The point, he will never see that money back if he sells it.

Yeah, but for him it's probably more about ego than about making profit from it.

[teflon]

The point, he will never see that money back if he sells it.

He's not going to miss that billion out of the 43 or so billions he has.

[Chundles]

A billion dollars eh?

Wonder how much it'll be to finish it?

[sushi]

The point, he will never see that money back if he sells it.
Do you really think that is an issue for him?

[Eraserhead]

"Looks may fade, but ugly lasts forever."

Or until it falls down, whichever occurs first.

The real question is is

120971

better or worse looking?

(This is the Engineering building in Oxford)

[Les Kern]

... the "W" about mid-height gives me pause.

Maybe a room has been set aside for when Americans (read: Sheeple) come out of their funk and run the "W" I think you're referring to out of town.

[John Jacob]

The real question is is The Engineering building in Oxford better or worse looking?

(This is the Engineering building in Oxford)

My opinion: Definitely better looking (the engineering building, that is). Which of course, is not saying much. :rolleyes:

[Les Kern]

A billion dollars eh?

Well, that's BEFORE furnishing it. And I'm pretty sure he won't be loading the family up and heading off to Ikea for millions of dollars in snap-together furniture.
But truth be told, I kind of like the house.

[Abstract]

He's definitely going to need some nice tiger fur rugs, leoparrrrrd, and possibly a stuffed dodo to fill all that space. Oh, and a room for his Wii.

The point, he will never see that money back if he sells it.

Who is he going to sell it to? Even at a discount, I doubt there would be very many buyers.

[whooleytoo]

That's sickening. There's so much more you can do with that amount of money. The people you could help. The research you could fund.

I don't know.. it's not as if the wealth is just disappearing.

The money will go to developers and architects and builders, who will pass the wealth onto other businesses. It's just moving around, nothing more.

[sushi]

I've been doing some reading on the property.

The more I read and see the more I like it from the outside and the inside concept wise. Living here in Japan, I have grown accustomed to simple inside lines and open rooms.

FWIW, I read where the value of the property has soared recently. So the value of his place has gone up substantially due to the land value increase.

Who is he going to sell it to? Even at a discount, I doubt there would be very many buyers.
While I don't know if this applies to the mega-rich, the millionaires that I know who have custom places really aren't concerned with the resale value. They have the custom made place because it gives them pleasure. Simple as that.

[iJohnHenry]

Location: Watching Skunk toy with the switch.

Nice location. Anything going on??

[Don't panic]

Why would you want to be stuck on the 9th floor if your house was burning down?
I always thought that the emergency room is in the basement, so that when there are hurricanes or earthquakes and floods and whatnots you'll be safe underground.

mmmmhh. not so sure about this one.


i think the buliding, when done, will look very cool.
i really like how much light and how 'open' the various spaces are.
much better than a 'regular' tower.
with a conventional approach you'd have to use probably 20x land to get the same 'outdoor' surface.

the cost surely looks insane, and of course it could be used for other purposed, but its his money and he's putting it back into the local economy.
(as opposed to, for example, the 350 million we waste every single day to get people killed in iraq)

[teflon]

The real question is

better or worse looking?

(This is the Engineering building in Oxford)

I think the "Antilla" looks way better than that, although I hate the name. Makes me think of ants.
The more I look at it, the more I like the design. I think it's pretty unique and clean. It's suppose to be like the Mandarin Oriental hotel, and I can definitely see the Asian influence in the design.
Although I'm more into more modern designs with funky sculptures, lots of glass, cement and tiles, abstract art and all that, I certainly wouldn't mind if I was given that house.
My mom would love the interiors though, and since Mrs.Ambani is probably more my mom's age, I can understand why she wanted her house that way.

mmmmhh. not so sure about this one.



Well my theory was that if you're underground, and sealed in a safe room, then water can't get in. But if you're above ground, then water can get in through the windows.
Although I guess in that scenario, you could just stay on the 9th floor.

[QCassidy352]

for some reason, I'm more horrified by the SIX FLOORS of parking than anything else.

[dllavaneras]

for some reason, I'm more horrified by the SIX FLOORS of parking than anything else.

I seriously doubt that people who visit those type of reunions call each other up and decide to carpool. :p

[Kace]

I actually quite like the building, both interior and exterior. Then again, I love hotels and odd skyscrapers. I think the exterior is quite unique and cool, and the interior looks pretty amazing.
I would have less garage space though. How many times, if at all, are you going to have 168 cars?
Is there no yard?

i think the car spot number is a bit off, the guy owns 168 cars already so im guessing 168 is a minimum the 6 floors would be able to hold. so it makes sense the 7th is solely for vehicle maintenance :rolleyes:

the yard, well there is 3 story high floor somewhere there for a greenhouse, et al plus the entertainment floor is semi-open with palm trees, etc so i guess that would cover it. its a 60 story high scraper house with only 27 floors so that means high celings, im not a fan of that.

but i agree its unique with its exterior and interior. uniquely indian might i add with design credence given to the indian version of feng shui than anything else. i reckon it would look a lot better once constructed.

[Kace]

just read that Mr Ambani (5th richest) and his brother (6th richest person in the world) are collective worth over 80 billion and separated the family business after the death of their father. apparently they are squabbling to 1 up the other. wonder what the younger brother is planning do to counter this....

[Abstract]

apparently they are squabbling to 1 up the other. wonder what the younger brother is planning do to counter this....

Well he can't really top this house, so he'll just have to sleep with his brother's wife.

[sushi]

Nice location. Anything going on??
I think Mr. Skunk is going cross-eyed! ;)

[themadchemist]

It looks like he played Tetris, messed up really bad and got a **** score, did a screen capture, and said, "Yo, this is what I want my house to look like. Do it. Do it."

A++++++. Thank you. You improved my life with this post.