The homes that make up the top 15 most expensive in the world are real family homes for some but just fantasies for most. Equipped with private cellars, personal leisure centres and all that money can buy these palatial estates are what dreams are made of.
1. Antilla ($1 billion)
The record for most expensive house in the world was officially set in 2009, when Indian trillionaire Mukesh Ambani and his family move into their newly built home: Antilla. This record could stand for a very long time. At a cost of $1 billion, Ambani's 27-story tower - complete with helipad on top - dwarfs the next most expensive home, both financially and in stature. Forget going to the gym - the Ambanis will have their own health club. And their friends can drop by in droves because the six-floor garage will hold 168 cars. The tower will be 570 feet tall, and mostly glass. The ultra-modern mansion will feature panic rooms, a movie theatre and a staff of 600 servants.
Ambani is the head of a global conglomerate and the richest man in the emerging Indian economy, which explains why his new home will have more floor space than Louis XIV's palace at Versailles. And because each floor is double the average height, Antilla will technically be 60 stories tall. The towering house isn't too disconnected from nature: Each level will have lush gardens. It seems a refuge fit for a shy man referred to as "a modern-day Howard Hughes"
2.One Hyde Park Penthouse ($200 million)
Technically, the world's second-most most expensive home doesn't exist yet. It's being built and is planned to be completed and ready for sale by 2010 - at the staggering price tag of 100 million pounds (more than $200 million). The penthouse will sit atop the swanky flats of One Hyde Park, a skyscraper development in London's richest quarter. This posh penthouse will be the upstairs-neighbour to 82 other apartments in the building, half of which have been sold for an average of around 20 million pounds (about $40 million), or approximately 6,000 pounds (about $12,000) per square foot.
3. Hearst Mansion ($165 million)
Fans of the epic movie "The Godfather" may be interested to know that the estate where the infamous scene in which a severed racehorse's head shows up in its owner's bed is for sale. The mansion, formerly owned by publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst (the inspiration for the main character in "Citizen Kane"), features 29 bedrooms, three pools and comes complete with its own disco and theatre. President John F. Kennedy stayed at the mansion during his honeymoon.
The Hearst Mansion shouldn't be confused with Hearst Castle of Sunset Boulevard, located a little farther north along the coast. The castle contains 165 rooms, while the mansion has only a mere 29 bedrooms. However, the castle is an established museum, not a home.
In 1947, Hearst bought the 1920s mansion and its 6-acre estate for $120,000. In 2007, the estate's current owner, who bought it in 1976, put the home on the market for $165 million. The home's buyer will have some notable neighbours, including Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and David and Victoria Beckham
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