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The Classicist: The New World's Most Expensive Estates

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 États 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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Witanhurst Sells, Plans For The Next Mega-Mansion Commence

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

One of my all-time favorite estate-of-the-day properties, the fabulous Witanhurst, the second largest home in London (Buckingham Palace being the first) has sold to a property developer for an estimated £32 million. The neo-Georgian property has 65 rooms including 25 bedrooms and a huge ballroom. It has been used as a location for a variety of period dramas. The developer, Marcus Cooper of The Cooper Group, plans to throw a lot of money into the house, hoping for a truly huge payout on the resale.

The news comes just one month after Mike Spink spent £42 million for the 570-acre Park Place estate near Henley-on-Thames. Spink has similar dreams, rehab an old beauty with the latest luxury appurtenances and then collect the big bucks. Mr. Cooper hopes for an even bigger sale price than Spink, who is expecting to get up to £100 million. Cooper is quoted in the Telegraph as saying that he is looking to "create London's first £150 million estate." Currently Britain's top home is still Updown Court which remains on the market for £75 million.

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Tags: england, estate of the day, london, marcus cooper, mike spink, real estate, updown court, witanhurst