buckingham palace

The 18th century palace beat off competition from the ultra-modern Antilia building in Mumbai, India, which is owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and Villa Leopolda, the lavish home of Brazilian socialite Lily Safra in Cote D'Azure, France. Despite competition from sprawling homes in India and the US, Buckingham Palace is the most expensive property in the world at just over £1billion.

Queen Elizabeth of UK may not be the richest in the world but resides in the most expensive home. The Buckingham Palace was built for the Duke of Buckingham – in whose honor it is named – in 1703, and is the official residence of the British monarchy. It has an astonishing 775 rooms and the largest private garden in London. The palace features in the itinerary of almost anyone visiting London.

One can't help wondering what would happen if all the toilets were flushed simultaneously. As well as the ample room space, the Palace is furnished with 514 doors, 760 windows, 350 clocks and over 40,000 light bulbs. Pity the poor electrician. You'd enjoy a life of luxury, once you hoovered all the corgi hairs out of the sofas.

The valuation of the palace is $1.55 billion, as per the National Building Society. While many know about the Buckingham Palace, many of these expensive residential estates are almost as unknown to the world as their owners are. There are some other expensive houses, like the most expensive apartment which is the Odeon Tower Penthouse in Monaco, owned by the Marzocco Family, the costliest celebrity home which is Santa Barbara Estate in Mentecito which belongs to television tycoon Oprah Winfrey, and the priciest castle, which is the Ashford Castle in Ireland.

Location: London

Value: $1.55 billion

Details: Technically still a house, but certainly not for sale, the Queen’s residence was valued at roughly $1.5 billion by the Nationwide Building Society in 2012. The property holds 775 rooms, including 19 state rooms, 52 bedrooms, 188 staff rooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms.

Owner: The British Sovereign—Currently Queen Elizabeth II, who has ruled since February 6, 1952.