Built from 1929 to 1931 and designed by an American architect, Ogden Codman, Jr., on an estate once owned by King Leopold II of Belgium. Codman’s extensive designs and construction gave the estate, once a series of unrelated buildings, and its current appearance.
Billionaire Lily Safra’s house is a historic villa in Villefranche-sur-Mer on the French Riviera – Villa La Leopolda, the second most expensive house in the world. A native of Brazil, she is a citizen of Monaco with homes in Geneva and Monaco, and also spends time in New York and London.
Lily Safra, born Lily Watkins, is the widow of Edmond J. Safra, a banker who died in a fire in 1999. Lily Safra’s net worth is $1.2 billion.
Named after Belgian King Leopold II, the expansive Villa Leopolda is both the largest and the most expensive French villa in the world. Overlooking the Mediterranean, it was both a military hospital during WWI and a set for Alfred Hitchcock's 1955 film, To Catch a Thief. In 2011, it was purchased by an anonymous Russian oligarch, sparking intrigue.
Since the luxury home was built, there have been multiple rumors about who has and who hasn't lived there. Bill Gates is just one of the many people who have never called Villa Leopolda home, yet is one of the most commonly placed people within the estate's walls. Regardless of who owns it, Villa Leopolda can easily be considered one of the great wonders of the world.
Built from 1929 to 1931 and designed by an American architect, Ogden Codman, Jr., on an estate once owned by King Leopold II of Belgium. Codman’s extensive designs and construction gave the estate, once a series of unrelated buildings, and its current appearance.
His neo-Palladian vision, coupled with his in-depth knowledge of historical precedent, resulted in the construction of a spectacular villa with extensive gardens and landscaping. Floor plans, letters, records, and stereo glass-plate views of the newly completed property still exist in the collections of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.
At Codman’s death in 1951 the estate was sold to Izaak Walton Killam whose wife inherited the place after his death. Villa Leopolda was used during the WWI as a military hospital.
By 1988 Villa Leopolda on the French Riviera had become one of the domiciles of the banker Edmond Safra. The Safras commissioned Renzo Mongiardino as interior designer, while the second-floor bedrooms were decorated by Mica Ertegun. It offers many facilities such as a swimming pool, 11 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms garden, swimming pool, private beach front, sporting courts and a bowling alley.
But this amazing villa was bought by a mysterious Russian billionaire who has spend $750 million and has set a new world record for the amazing amount of money he spend. The previous record for a house was said to be the £57 million that Lakshmi Mittal, the steel tycoon, paid for a property in Kensington Palace Gardens in 2004.
Is not that odd that a Russian billionaire has bought the villa, because since the early ‘90s, Russian oligarchs, drawn by memories of the Riviera-mad Old Russian Aristocracy have been piling into seaside properties at Cap Ferrat, Cap d’Antibes, Saint-Tropez and more other playgrounds.
The seller of the Most Expensive House in the World:Villa Leopolda had the steel nerve required to wait for the astronomical bid for Villa Leopolda on the French Riviera and the wait has been awarded.
The Expensive House: Villa Leopolda invokes the style of the Belle Époque and for that it is registered as a French monument historique.
By 1988 Villa Leopolda on the French Riviera had become one of the domiciles of the banker Edmond Safra. The Safras commissioned Renzo Mongiardino as interior designer, while the second-floor bedrooms were decorated by Mica Ertegun. It offers many facilities such as a swimming pool, 11 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms garden, swimming pool, private beach front, sporting courts and a bowling alley.
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