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What sort of home can $225m get you? Most expensive residential property ever listed for sale

California mansion comes complete with 60 rooms, pool house, cinema, tennis courts and history of guests including Hollywood royalty and American presidents

Colin Drury
Friday 18 October 2019 12:10 BST
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Casa Encantada in Bel Air, Los Angeles
Casa Encantada in Bel Air, Los Angeles (Google)

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It is a Californian mansion that comes complete with 60 rooms, a pool house, cinema, tennis courts and an impeccable history that has seen it host both Hollywood royalty and US presidents.

Now this 40,000 sq ft home in Bel Air, Los Angeles, could become the world’s most expensive residential property ever after it was listed for sale at a cool $225 million (£175 million).

The luxurious property – known as Casa Encantada and built in 1938 – would eclipse the £160 million paid for the One Hyde Park penthouse, in London’s Knightsbridge, last year.

Among the mansion’s selling points are its eight acres of land, ocean panoramas, an 18 ft high entrance hall, basketball court, Koi ponds and a number of guest houses. It was designed by famed architect James E Dolena.

It has already been the world’s most expensive home once: it broke the then record for a residential property sale in the year 2000 when it was bought by current owner Gary Winnick for $94 million (£73 million).

But that figure would be a relative snip if the financer and philanthropist can now pass the place on for the listed asking price.

The bump-up is said to reflect the fact that Mr Winnick and his wife Karen hired a team of 250 experts to carry out a museum-quality restoration of the estate shortly after becoming owners.

It was listed on Thursday by Hilton and Hyland, a Beverly Hills-based estate agent.

Partner Jeff Hyland said: “We don’t expect [the buyer] to be someone who just made their money in tech on an IPO and is 29-years-old.”

He told the Los Angeles Times: “It’s going to be someone who is sophisticated, someone who is a world traveller, who has homes in other places around the world.”

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But even at $225 million, it would be an apparent bargain compared to what is thought would be the world’s most expensive residence were it ever to go on sale: Buckingham Palace has previously been valued at a staggering £1 billion.

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