Russian Tycoon Pays $750 Million for a Home(?)

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VillaLeopolda
Photo by PMO

From the “Who Cares What it Costs, I Have Too Much Money” files:

Villa Leopolda (aka La Leopolda), an estate in the French Riviera’s Cote d’Azur, built by King Leopold of Belgium in 1902, has been reported today to have been sold for $750,000,000 to a “mystery Russian billionaire”.

Forbes questions whether this is even true as apparently this very property has been subject to much speculation in recent years — including a rumor that Bill Gates purchased the property for a mere $110M in 2005.

It would seem that despite a desirable location, and an almost impossible to find 20 acre parcel, the rumored $750M price tag is a bit steep. Properties similar to this one are available for only $60 – $150 million.

Your mortgage: only $3,800,000 per month

The Wall Street Journal blog pegs a mortgage for this guy at $3,792,408 per month (assuming 20% down and a 6.5% rate). If the sale indeed happened, a more likely scenario is the buyer paid cold hard cash.

While there is no question this is one nice spread, one has to ask; is any home really worth 750 million bucks?

Worlds most expensive home

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About the Author
Jay Thompson

I'm a real estate broker in Phoenix, Arizona and the publisher of the Phoenix Real Estate Guy blog. I tend to drive too fast and scream at the University of Texas and Denver Broncos football teams. My two kids are smarter than most adults I know and my wife is simply amazing.

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Wowsier! Nice property. The Interior must out of this world. Commission!!!
.-= Rick´s last blog ..Types of Apartments =-.

Wow, that beats even the priciest properties in London in Hampstead and Kensington eg Kensington Palace Gardens where the average house is worth a mere £20M (about $30M).

http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/russian-tycoo...

1%? commission?.... I wouldn't mind .05% literally. The home is amazing but 750M? I guess it must be nice...

What is would like to know is what kind of commission did the realtor receive. Maybe it was enough to retire. Its amazing you could fit an the entire population of a small country in there.

I saw realtor magazine online is reporting this as an actual sale to the Russian billionaire. The price of this estate is still just staggering.

Wow. I bet half the rooms are completely empty how much stuff could he possibly have?

He'll probably need like a fleet of moving trucks just to get his all his belongings into his new mansion.

And if your not buying the view you are buying the neighbourhood.

Kensington and Chelsea, the fashionable west London district, has been pipped as the most expensive address in Britain by a street in North London's Highgate.

One of the largest houses in London after Buckingham Palace, on West Hill in Highgate Courtenay Avenue, near the parkland of Hampstead Heath, is the UK's new priciest place to live, with average property values of £6.8m.

Other streets in the same area -- five avenues between the Hampstead and Highgate golf courses -- make up the first cluster of property hotspots.

Ingram Avenue ranks number 11, with an average property price of 5.16 million pounds, and Winnington Road comes in 17th place, with an average price-tag of 4.73 million pounds.

Here is a slideshow of some of the most expensive homes in the world. While nothing comes close to touching this $750 million dollar price tag, it is interesting to see what you get for the ridiculous amounts paid - in some cases it seems you are just buying the view.

That's truly a bulk amount and a millionaire can afford it. Still there are people that may not have that much amount to spent for their new home, yet they are offering a healthy amount for their dream home.

Maybe just a rumor, but I heard he bought it no-money-down with a cash-back-at-closing late night infomercial technique.

Wow... that's a huge tag. I wonder if this is the same house as the one in Godfather. Remember the scene about the movie director in the bed, wakes up to find a head of a cow or a bull next to him.

Isn't Bill Gates' house worth $7 billion. With all this geek electronic equipment I though it was the most expensive house ever made.

Gosh, you can finance a lot of very private vacations including private jets, etc for 3.7 million dollars a month. Would not be a fun property to appraise and I agree it would most likely be a cash sale. If the sale did not really happen probably good rumor to spread that it sold for this astronomical amount.

That's enough to make my stomach sick...$750,000,000 is way too much to spend on a house. Though it does look lovely... Wouldn't mind the commission on that either... :) :)

Imagine what the property taxes are on that estate. The government must be salivating, if taxes are based on recent sales...

"available for only $60 – $150 million"... ONLY? That word just stood out to me. None of us will ever see that much money in our lives.

How do you become friends with people like this? :)

this kind of reckless spending makes me sick. mostly cuz i cannot do it myself lol

Gimme a damn break. Silly....

$750 million for that?! You can buy an (entire town) in British Columbia and all its dwellings for only $7 million, and it is right on the beach. Granted, that was 4 years ago - but I have a feeling it is still on the market.

Wowsier! Nice property. The Interior must out of this world. Commission!!!
.-= Ricku00c2u00b4s last blog ..Types of Apartments =-.

Wow, that beats even the priciest properties in London in Hampstead and Kensington eg Kensington Palace Gardens where the average house is worth a mere u00c2u00a320M (about $30M).

http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/russian-tycoo...

1%? commission?.... I wouldn't mind .05% literally. The home is amazing but 750M? I guess it must be nice...

Would nt mind 1% commission!!!!!!!

I think the price is wrong. I do not think someone who makes that much would pay way over the fair market. Reminds me of someone in India who is building a 17 story home for a billion. I would rather have estate like one above than that. I do remember some guy being taken by Trump for home in florida for way more than that house is worth.

The price for leopold king fame he acquired for himself in the history is also most expensive ,can anybody else in this universe repeat the history created by king leopoldll ? The price value equation lies in deeds not in estate. Well done russian billionare.CONGRATS.

What is would like to know is what kind of commission did the realtor receive. Maybe it was enough to retire. Its amazing you could fit an the entire population of a small country in there.

I saw realtor magazine online is reporting this as an actual sale to the Russian billionaire. The price of this estate is still just staggering.

But how big is the garage?

Wow. I bet half the rooms are completely empty how much stuff could he possibly have?

He'll probably need like a fleet of moving trucks just to get his all his belongings into his new mansion.

And if your not buying the view you are buying the neighbourhood.

Kensington and Chelsea, the fashionable west London district, has been pipped as the most expensive address in Britain by a street in North London's Highgate.

One of the largest houses in London after Buckingham Palace, on West Hill in Highgate Courtenay Avenue, near the parkland of Hampstead Heath, is the UK's new priciest place to live, with average property values of u00c2u00a36.8m.

Other streets in the same area -- five avenues between the Hampstead and Highgate golf courses -- make up the first cluster of property hotspots.

Ingram Avenue ranks number 11, with an average property price of 5.16 million pounds, and Winnington Road comes in 17th place, with an average price-tag of 4.73 million pounds.

Wow, What a property, I wonder what it costs to run?

Here is a slideshow of some of the most expensive homes in the world. While nothing comes close to touching this $750 million dollar price tag, it is interesting to see what you get for the ridiculous amounts paid - in some cases it seems you are just buying the view.

That's truly a bulk amount and a millionaire can afford it. Still there are people that may not have that much amount to spent for their new home, yet they are offering a healthy amount for their dream home.

Maybe just a rumor, but I heard he bought it no-money-down with a cash-back-at-closing late night infomercial technique.

Seems hard to believe 750M when other properties sell for no more then 110M. I guess if you have a couple billion to spend whats an extra hundred million to get the best of the best......

Wow... that's a huge tag. I wonder if this is the same house as the one in Godfather. Remember the scene about the movie director in the bed, wakes up to find a head of a cow or a bull next to him.

For a billionaire, this could be a weekend retreat.

Isn't Bill Gates' house worth $7 billion. With all this geek electronic equipment I though it was the most expensive house ever made.

The interior must be ridiculous. I wonder what the real estate agent made in commissions.

Gosh, you can finance a lot of very private vacations including private jets, etc for 3.7 million dollars a month. Would not be a fun property to appraise and I agree it would most likely be a cash sale. If the sale did not really happen probably good rumor to spread that it sold for this astronomical amount.

That's enough to make my stomach sick...$750,000,000 is way too much to spend on a house. Though it does look lovely... Wouldn't mind the commission on that either... :) :)

Imagine what the property taxes are on that estate. The government must be salivating, if taxes are based on recent sales...

"available for only $60 u00e2u0080u0093 $150 million"... ONLY? That word just stood out to me. None of us will ever see that much money in our lives.

How do you become friends with people like this? :)

I wonder what comps they used for the appraisal?

this kind of reckless spending makes me sick. mostly cuz i cannot do it myself lol

Gimme a damn break. Silly....

$750 million for that?! You can buy an (entire town) in British Columbia and all its dwellings for only $7 million, and it is right on the beach. Granted, that was 4 years ago - but I have a feeling it is still on the market.

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