fleur de lys

$650 Million Price Cut on Villa Leopolda? (Updated)

Villa Leopolda on the Cote D'Azure (above), once the world's most expensive estate with a $750 million pricetag, is apparently back on the market with an astonishing $650 million price cut, a new world record. The 11-bedroom, 14-bathroom mansion has 29,000 square feet of interior space that opens to manicured lawns and a swimming pool. The spiraling outdoor staircases, balconies and terraces have waterfront views and of the surrounding hillsides. Working fireplaces, a sauna, outdoor kitchen and pool house are other features. As we noted back in February, Russia's richest man Mikhail Prokhorov had reportedly agreed to purchase the Villa for $750 million but later backed out of the deal, forfeiting a $55 million deposit. In May we reported that the recession had caused the estate's value to plunge significantly. Owner Lilly Safra did not re-list the property right away, but according to Forbes the Villa is now available for $102 million. The magazine now places it as the 4th most expensive estate in the world, behind No. 1, the Spelling Manor at $150 million; No. 2, Fleur De Lys at $125 million; and No. 3, Updown Court at $117 million.

UPDATE: Leopolda's owner Lily Safra now says the Forbes report was "pure fantasy". "The residence is not being sold and was never offered for sale," Safra's rep Seth Goldschlager insists. Forbes has now removed Leopolda from its list of the world's most expensive estates. Albemarle House in Charlottesville, Va., listed at $100 million, is now the 4th most expensive estate in the world according to the magazine, behind No. 1, the Spelling Manor at $150 million; No. 2, Fleur De Lys at $125 million; and No. 3, Updown Court at $117 million.

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Tags: Fleur De Lys, FleurDeLys, Forbes, France, Mikhail Prokhorov, MikhailProkhorov, Spelling Manor, SpellingManor, Villa Leopolda, VillaLeopolda, worlds most expensive, WorldsMostExpensive

The Classicist: The New World's Most Expensive Estates

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, The Classicist, Wealth

Five months ago when Forbes ranked the world's most expensive houses (in terms of current listings) only three of them clocked in at over $100 million. And in fact, one of those, Leona Helmsley's Dunnellen Hall in Greenwich, CT which started out at $125 million had already been reduced to $95 million by the time the list was published (it's currently being offered at $75 million). The other, Fleur de Lys in Beverly Hills listed at $125 million, was therefore the world's most expensive and one of only two $100 million-plus properties officially on the market.

Re-surveying the field now we've decided it's time for a new World's Most Expensive list, mainly because despite the recession - or, perhaps, because of it - there are now seven properties in what we've dubbed the Hundred Million Club (N.B. - those listed at only $100 million don't make the cut), three of which are in the U.S. These are the modern-day equivalents of the magnates' great estates we wrote about back in February.

Some recent market activity which regular Luxist readers will be aware of makes a new ranking imperative. For starters, last month Candy Spelling listed her Holmby Hills mega-mansion at $150 million, making it the world's most expensive estate. Then just last week a mansion at No. 10 Belgrave Square in London hit the market for around the same price - £100 million, or about $149 million (depending on exchange rates), while a second Belgrave Square property finally completed renovations and has been listed at £80 million, or about $120 million.

We also received confirmation this week that an incredible 40-room private mansion in Paris' Place des États Unis (above), built in 1890, has been listed at €105 million, or about $138 million. Fleur de Lys, whose "world's most expensive" status (though not its "legendary estate" status) was also usurped by the $135 million Manaplan Residence in Palm Beach now languishes in 5th place (sorry, Mariah).

Here is our new ranking of the world's most expensive estates (in terms of current verifiable listings), all members of the Hundred Million Club:

1. The Manor - Holmby Hills, CA: $150 million
2. No. 10 Belgrave Square, London, UK: $149 million
3. Place des États Unis, Paris, France: $138 million
4. The Manalapan Residence, Palm Beach, FL: $135 million
5. Fleur de Lys, Beverly Hills, CA: $125 million
6. No. 31 Belgrave Square, London, UK: $120 million
7. Updown Court, Surrey, UK: $110 million

Gallery: $100 Million is Not Enough

1. The Manor - Holmby Hills, CA: $150 million

2. No. 10 Belgrave Square, London, UK: $149 million

3. Place des Ãtats Unis, Paris, France: $138 million

4. The Manaplan Residence, Palm Beach, FL: $135 million

5. Fleur de Lys, Beverly Hills, CA: $125 million

Tags: Beverly Hills, BeverlyHills, Candy Spelling, CandySpelling, Connecticut, Dunnellen Hall, DunnellenHall, Fleur de Lys, FleurDeLys, Florida, Forbes, Greenwich, Leona Helmsley, LeonaHelmsley, London, Manaplan Residence, ManaplanResidence, mansion, Palm Beach, PalmBeach, Paris, The Manor, TheManor, Updown Court, UpdownCourt, Villa Leopolda, VillaLeopolda, worlds most expensive, WorldsMostExpensive

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Spelling Mansion Listed at $150 Million, Now World's Most Expensive Estate

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Move over Fleur de Lys: Candy Spelling's legendary massive 123-room Holmby Hills mansion has officially hit the market with a record-breaking asking price of $150 million. That's $25 million more than the Beverly Hills behemoth Mariah Carey is said to have made an offer on recently, and officially makes the Spelling mansion, called "The Manor," the world's most expensive estate in terms of current listings, the Wall St. Journal reports. The 57,000-sq.-ft. mansion, which has at least 11 bedrooms and 16 baths, was built by TV producer Aaron Spelling on the site of Bing Crosby's former estate, which they razed

.

Features include a bowling alley in the basement, a beauty parlor and a barber shop in the 17,000-sq.-ft. attic, a gift wrapping room, doll museum, a home gym, a wine cellar and wine tasting room, a humidity-controlled silver storage room, a china storage room, and a screening room where the screen rises up out of the floor with paintings moving up to reveal the projector, the Real Estalker reports. The gated grounds encompassing five acres include a motor court with a fountain, covered parking for dozens of luxury cars, formal gardens including a rooftop rose garden, a swimming pool and spa complex and of course a tennis court.

Tags: Aaron Spelling, AaronSpelling, Bing Crosby, BingCrosby, Candy Spelling, CandySpelling, Fleur de Lys, FleurDeLys, Holmby Hills, HolmbyHills, Los Angeles, LosAngeles, mansion

Mariah Carey Makes an Offer on World's Most Expensive Mansion

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Pop diva Mariah Carey has reportedly made an offer on Fleur de Lys, the world's most expensive estate, which is listed at $125 million. The the palatial 15-bedroom mansion in Beverly Hills (above) was built by Texan billionaire David Saperstein. The five-acre estate is home to a 41,000-square foot French limestone mansion inspired by France's magnificent Vaux le Vicomte palace outside Paris. It features Italian marble walls, French limestone floors, gold-embossed leather wall coverings, gold-leaf crown moldings, a ballroom with ceiling frescoes, a library complete with rare books, two kitchens and a screening room with seating for 50.

Surrounding the mansion are rolling lawns, ornamental gardens and mature trees, a 3,000-square-foot manager's house, staff quarters for 10 people, a spa and pool with a pavilion, a championship tennis court, and a lavish garden folly. Contactmusic reports that after three months of house hunting Carey and her rapper / actor husband Nick Cannon have made an offer on the estate, for an undisclosed amount. "They like the home because there's so little that needs doing to it," a source close to the couple allegedly remarked. The house is currently owned by Saperstein's ex-wife Suzanne, whom he ditched for the childrens' hot Swedish nanny.

Gallery: Fleur de Lys

Tags: Beverly Hills, BeverlyHills, celebrity, David Saperstein, DavidSaperstein, Fleur de Lys, FleurDeLys, mansion, Mariah Carey, MariahCarey, pop star, PopStar

Fleur de Lys Named World's Most Expensive Estate

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Forbes has named Fleur de Lys (above), the lavish Beverly Hills estate featured in this week's Classicist column, as the world's most expensive house currently on the market with its $125 million pricetag. The palatial mansion beat out Leona Helmsley's Dunnellen Hall in Greenwich, Conn., which had been listed at $125 million as well, but saw its price cut by $30 million back in October (Forbes has not yet registered the change). Fleur de Lys has been on the market since 2007, but unlike some other major property owners, billionaire's ex Suzanne Saperstein has yet to slash the price. In compiling its list of the world's 10 most expensive estates, Forbes culled from property listings, high-end brokerages and conversations with real estate agents. "We include only publicly listed properties," they note. "In Europe, especially, estates and luxury residences that might qualify are shopped privately for undisclosed prices." You can see a slideshow of the list here.

Gallery: Fleur de Lys

Tags: Beverly Hills, BeverlyHills, Dunnellen Hall, DunnellenHall, Fleur de Lys, FleurDeLys, Forbes, suzanne saperstein, SuzanneSaperstein

The Classicist: Legendary Estates of Beverly Hills

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Books, The Classicist, Wealth

Times being a trifle tough these days, that $100 million mansion in Beverly Hills may be a bit beyond your reach. The next best thing has got to be Jeffrey Hyland's new 400-page volume The Legendary Estates of Beverly Hills, a meticulously researched and lavishly illustrated history of 50 magnificent estates in three world-famous enclaves of the ultra-wealthy - Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, and Holmby Hills. The $250 tome is a definitive history of the area's most famous estates - "the architecturally spectacular homes and lavish grounds that have been home to countless celebrities and the world's richest families for almost a century."

Aside from the purely visual pleasure of the photographs both old and new, Hyland explains the history and architectural importance of each estate, and tells the fascinating stories of the many famed owners, from their "passionate involvement in the design of these costly properties, to their intrigues, triumphs, calamities, and romances." The estates run the gamut from historic Beverly House, the sprawling 1920s Mediterranean estate inhabited by William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies and briefly listed a while back at $165 million, to modern classics like the notorious Fleur de Lys in Holmby Hills (above).

The 15-bedroom Fleur de Lys, which is currently on the market for $125 million, was built by Texan billionaire David Saperstein and is now owned by his ex-wife Suzanne - whom he ditched for the childrens' hot Swedish nanny. The five-acre estate is home to a 41,000-square foot French limestone mansion inspired by France's magnificent Vaux le Vicomte palace outside Paris. Surrounding the mansion are rolling lawns, ornamental gardens and mature trees, a 3,000-square-foot manager's house, staff quarters for ten people, a spa and pool with a pavilion and its own kitchen, a championship tennis court, and a lavish garden folly.

Gallery: Legendary Estates of Beverly Hills

Also featured in the book: Bellagio Road in Bel-Air, built for studio mogul Sol Wurtzel in the 1930s along the lines of the villas found on the hillsides near Florence, Italy; Casa Encantada in Bel-Air, a "modern Georgian with Grecian influences" built in the 1930s by a former nurse from New York who married a much-older multimillionaire glass manufacturer, then took up with her chauffeur after he died; and the storied St. Cloud Road estate which was owned by a string of luminaries including It Happened One Night director Frank Capra, Warner Bros. stars Dick Powell and Joan Blondell, director / producer Mervyn LeRoy, and MGM founder Louis B. Mayer. See the gallery for pix.

Tags: Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, BeverlyHills, Fleur de Lys, FleurDeLys, Frank Capra, FrankCapra, Holmby Hills, HolmbyHills, Suzanne Saperstein, SuzanneSaperstein, William Randolph Hearst, WilliamRandolphHearst

There's a $5,000 Burger in Las Vegas

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

The Fleur de Lys restaurant in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay may serve French cuisine but that hasn't stopped them from adapting their own version of an American classic: the hamburger. Called the "Fleurburger 5000" it's no Plain Jane either, featuring a juicy Kobe beef patty topped with a rich truffle sauce and served on a brioche truffle bun. And this burger comes with its own beverage, a bottle of 1990 Chateau Petrus, that is served in Ichendorf Brunello stemware that you get to keep.

It sounds (and looks) delicious -- as well it should for the whopping price tag of $5000. And if you do decide to indulge no worries about bragging rights: you can bring a friend (they get a free burger when you order yours) and you'll also get a certificate in the mail (along with your keepsake glass) so you'll have both a witness and paper proof.

Gallery: Fleur de Lys at Mandalay Bay