World’s most expensive house
It harks back to the grand old days of kings and queens when opulence and decadence abounded
IT HAS 14 bedrooms, a library filled with 3 000 books, 14 hectares of immaculate gardens, a swimming pool set in ancient stone and sweeping views of lush valleys rolling down to the ocean.
There’s also a party room, a kitchen fit for a Michelin-star chef, rows of stables and 25 heated greenhouses. And all this could be yours for a mere €350 million (R5 billion).
Villa Les Cèdres is being touted as the most expensive residential home to go on the market, taking over from a sprawling estate in Bel Air, Los Angeles, with a price tag of $350 million (R4 billion).
Villa Les Cèdres is near Saint-JeanCap-Ferrat, a playground for several of the world’s wealthiest, nestled between Nice and Monaco in the south of France.
It’s owned by Italian beverage company Davide Campari-Milano and its vibe is described as “decadent and slightly weathered”, in keeping with the Belle Époque era between the late 1800s and the start of World War 1 – a time of peace and prosperity before the horrors of war.
The road leading to the mansion is lined with cedar trees – Villa Les Cèdres means Cedar House – and all the home’s contents, including carpets, paintings and chandeliers, are included in the price tag.
The estate, built in 1830, was bought in 1850 by the mayor of a nearby town who operated it as an olive farm. There are still olive trees more than 300 years old on the grounds.
The mayor’s descendants sold the property in 1904 to Belgium’s King Leopold II, who used it as a holiday home. Today his blue-and-gold crest is mounted on one of the sitting room walls, as are portraits of his mistresses.
After the king’s death in 1924 the mansion was taken over by the wealthy Marnier-Lapostolle family, known for producing Grand Marnier liqueur, a blend of cognac and triple sec.
Over the next 80 years they cultivated the gardens, growing exotic plants and oranges needed to flavour their liqueur. Today the grounds are considered among the top 10 botanical gardens in the world.
It was only in 2016 that the house changed hands again, after the Campari group bought Grand Marnier’s parent
The property has been an olive farm and a holiday home for a Belgian king – and is one of the top 10 botanical gardens in the world
company, Société des Produits Marnier Lapostolle.
Confronted with a property that could be worth 20% of its gross 2016 sales, Campari put it on the market almost immediately.
The price tag comes primarily from the amount of land and the size of the home relative to its location. Real estate in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is among the most sought-after in the world.
Should you buy Villa Les Cèdres, your neighbours would be Microsoft’s co-owner Paul Allen and British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Go on – what are you waiting for! SOURCES: BLOOMBERG.COM, EDITION.CNN.COM