Most expensive house on Earth, just $500M. Pic and Story

Most expensive house on Earth, just $500M

You’d expect to pay a lot for the best views of the French seas, close proximity to Monte Carlo, 10 acres of immaculate grounds tended by 50 gardeners and cascading down to the resort of Villefranche on the French Riviera. A Russian oligarch was willing to dole out the appropriate cash.

At $500-million, La Leopolda is the world’s most expensive house. It’s just been bought by one of the world’s richest men, billionaire Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.

The 41-year-old and his oil heiress girlfriend Daria Zhukova, 25, fell in love with the palatial villa during a private viewing. Apparently, he’d like to take over all of the exclusive properties along the Riviera. He also owns the $30-million Chateau de la Croe just down the road from La Leopolda, the hideaway where the Duke of Windsor fled with Wallace Simpson in 1938.

The estate has an interesting history in the world of the uber-rich. It was originally built for Belgium’s King Leopold’s mistresses, and past owners include the late banking magnate Edmund Safra, Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Fiat tycoon Gianni Agnelli.

I’ve walked through the area on a trip to nearby Nice and remember another tourist commenting that the ornate gate fronting one of the estates was worth more his house.  Photo: View of ‘ La Leopolda’ taken in 1999 in Villefranche-sur-Mer on the French Riviera. The estate was once owned by Libanese banker Edmond Safra summer villa. Nationalpost