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It's highly unlikely that you live in a luxurious mansion. Do you really, though, need all that excess, and who's actually going to clean all those windows? But let's not worry about the owners of plush residences and their troubles. Let’s simply enjoy a look at their amazing homes.
The Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island (United States)
The Vanderbilt family, who made their fortune in steamships and trains, had this 70-room residence built to replace an earlier home that had been destroyed in a fire. The Italian Renaissance architecture brings to mind palaces found in Genoa and Turin.
Ralston Hall, Belmont, California (United States)
Built in 1868, this magnificent home now sits on the Notre Dame de Namur University campus. Its 5,110 square metres (55,000 square feet) combine Italian and 19th-century Steamboat Gothic architecture.
Billionaire Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, spent $63 million to build this intelligent house complete with sensors that automatically adjust room temperature and lighting.
The property also includes six kitchens, nearly 20 bathrooms, and even a reception hall capable of seating 200 people. It’s valued at $127 million.
Wealthy businessman Bruce Makowsky included a 147-square-metre (1,579-square-foot) game room in this plush residence. It also features a heliport, 40-seat movie theatre, and a dozen VIP suites with breathtaking views of Los Angeles. Seven people work there full-time.
This incredible property can be yours for $150 million.
Spelling Manor, Holmby Hills (Los Angeles), California (United States)
This mansion was constructed in 1991 for the family of major American producer Aaron Spelling. “Candyland” is a veritable castle at 5,249 square metres (56,500 square feet). Built in the shape of a “W,” the estate boasts over 20 bedrooms, a room just for floristry, and...a barbershop.
Built for magnate Mukesh Ambani, this $2-billion tower is the most expensive residence on the planet after Buckingham Palace. Totalling 37,161 square metres (400,000 square feet) and rising to 27 storeys, Antilia has nine elevators and employs a small army of workers. The tower can survive a magnitude 8 earthquake (Richter scale).
La Leopolda was built for the King of Belgium, Leopold II (1835-1909), on an eight-hectare (20-acre) estate. After changing hands several times, the home served as a military hospital during the First World War.
In 2008, Mikhail Prokhorov purchased the 836 square-metre (9,000-square-foot) property for approximately $750 million.
Biltmore House, Asheville, North Carolina (United States)
This vast French Renaissance residence is a Vanderbilt property. Construction began in 1889 and lasted six years. The home occupies nearly two hectares (four acres) and boasts 250 rooms, including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces.
This residence, designed by Paul Chalfin, was built between 1914 and 1916. Republican President Ronald Reagan met with Pope John Paul II at the villa in 1987. It was then classified as a historical monument in 1994 and, in the same year, welcomed 34 world leaders during the First Summit of the Americas.
King William III and Queen Mary II hired Christopher Wren, the architect who designed Saint Paul's Cathedral, to transform Nottingham House into a veritable palace. The former residence of Queen Victoria and Princess Diana is now home to Prince William and Duchess Catherine Middleton.
Playboy Mansion, Los Angeles, California (United States)
This property, built in 1927 and made famous by Hugh Hefner, is an impressive example of Tudor-style Gothic architecture. At 1,858 square metres (20,000 square feet), it's one of the few houses to hold a year-round fireworks permit. The master bedroom occupies two floors, and the estate includes two forests and a zoo.
One Hyde Park, one of the world's most sumptuous addresses, is a four-tower, 13-storey complex designed by Richard Rogers. Residents enjoy access to a sauna, squash court, 22-metre (72-foot) pool, and skylights that slowly open in response to your alarm clock. To purchase an apartment, be prepared to shell out at least $92,500 per square metre ($8,600 per square foot).
Nestled on 25.5 hectares (63 acres), this estate overlooks the ocean and includes several buildings. The Italian-style home has 29 bedrooms, three pools, and a 164-seat movie theatre. Some have dubbed it the Versailles of the Atlantic.
Architect George A. Crawley drew inspiration from manors dating back to the reign of Charles II (17th century) when designing this residence. The home, completed in 1906, is full of antiques and works of art and is surrounded by amazing gardens, ponds, and lakes.
Maison de l’Amitié, Palm Beach, Florida (United States)
Owned by a certain Donald Trump (before being sold to a rich Russian businessman for the modest sum of $95 million), the pleasantly named “house of friendship” sat on a 2.5-hectare (six-acre) estate and featured 17 bedrooms, tennis courts, Greek-style fountains, and a Jacuzzi with a view of the ocean. The home was demolished in 2016.
Ford House, Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan (United States)
Wanting to recreate the cottage style of the Cotswolds in southwest England, Edsel and Eleanor Ford hired architect Albert Kahn in 1926 to design a sumptuous residence.
Declared a national historical site in 2016, the house is now a museum.