World's Most Expensive Penthouse Sells for $308 Million in Monaco

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed)
Sep 13th 2010 at 11:02AM

Barely a month after we reported that a London penthouse had sold for $220 million, making it the world's most expensive private residence, the record has been shattered with the $308 million sale of a palatial penthouse in Monaco (above). The Monaco property, called La Belle Epoque, has quite a history; formerly the home of billionaire banker Edmund Safra, it's where he was found dead following a mysterious fire that gutted the apartment in 1999. The three-bedroom, 17,500-sq-.ft. duplex penthouse, which includes a double-height library and vast roof terraces complete with mature 15-foot trees and an infinity pool, is thought to have been purchased by an Arab sheikh, the Economic Times reports.

The apartment's luxe features include a panic room with reinforced glass and surveillance cameras, cinema screens which emerge from walls at the touch of a button, numerous walk-in wardrobes and dressing rooms, a leisure room with billiard tables and arcade video games, a Jacuzzi and spa, and a media room with special executive chairs which convert into beds. The penthouse was sold by British property developers Christian and Nick Candy, who acquired the space relatively cheaply following the fire from Lily Safra and hired designer Martin Kemp to oversee $40 million in renovations, including a dining room (above) with a platinum leaf ceiling.

Gallery: $308 Million in Monaco

Tags: Arab, Candy Brothers, Edmund Safra, Lily Safra, London, Monaco, penthouse, worlds most expensive

Filed under: Estates, Wealth

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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)

Heather Sep 13th 2010 8:12PM

You think they would have shown us a picture of the panic room. I guess that's where you go after writing the 300 million dollar check.

Dawn Sep 14th 2010 4:22PM

When you have that kind of money you have to spend on investments to decrease your tax liability....i.e. real estate, charities, etc...

shreefer Sep 14th 2010 4:47PM

We should all get at least one free night in these diggs since we paid for every last square foot at the gas pumps.

Dawn Sep 14th 2010 4:25PM

When you have that kind of money you have to spend on investments to decrease your tax liability....i.e. real estate, charities, etc...

deneugrob Sep 15th 2010 8:43AM

Denasey,

There were many lives saved, mouths fed and schools built. And it was done so in the correct way. when this place was constructed and renovated, there were millions of dollars spent putting architectural firms, electrician contractors, construction companies, mill rights, etc., each of whom hires many employees to work. Each of these people pay taxes as does the buyer, which are used to build schools, hospitals, etc. Apparently, you have a limit someone should be able to spend on their residence. I wonder if there's anything you spend money on that I would think should be better spent on society. Maybe you travel places I deem to expensive... smoke... drink... eat out at fast food restaurants... expensive restaurants... drive too nice a car... all of which I could decide if they're too extravagant.

Jessica V. Sep 15th 2010 11:42AM

What's really sad about all this, is there are probably millions of children around the world, starving, no homes, some no parents, no clothes, no schools etc. there are millions of people and families who live in shacks and have nothing and no money, they can't even afford to buy the bare necessities. There are millions of people and children who are dying from diseases that need money for extensive research for cures... and then there are the people who have millions and billions of dollars, don't have a care or worry in the world and can drop $300 million on a single house, which is most likely not their only home, and one that they maybe spend a few months a year actually living in. These people get to live like their gods while millions of other people are starving and dying, living pay check to pay check and barely getting by. Call me crazy but somehow all of this just doesn't seem right, in fact it's sick.

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