World's most expensive homes

		Thu, Nov 18, 2010 The New Paper
Billion dollar baby
By Chng Choon Hiong and Kelvin Chan The world's first billion-dollar home belongs to Mukesh Ambani, named by Forbes as the richest man in India and fourth in the world. Named Antilla, after a mythical island, the 27-storey, 400,000 sq ft colossus offers its residents and guests a sweeping view of the Mumbai skyline. World's most expensive homes Click on thumbnail to view India's Ambani shows off 'world's priciest home' AFP - Sunday, November 28   India's Ambani shows off 'world's priciest home' MUMBAI (AFP) - – Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani has hosted a lavish housewarming party to show off his just-completed new skyscraper residence, believed to be the world's most expensive private home. Some 80 of India's rich and famous attended the party on Friday night at the 27-storey building, which dominates the skyline above the sprawling slums and traffic-choked roads of Mumbai, the Times of India reported. Indian novelist Shobhaa De, who attended the party, called the building -- reported to be the world's priciest private residence costing over one billion dollars -- "the Taj Mahal of the 21st century". Ambani, who heads India's largest private company, petrochemical giant Reliance Industries, will need 600 employees to maintain the palatial residence, reports said. De described visiting "what has got to be the biggest, glitziest ballroom in India -- the Palace of Versailles is a poor cousin" with groaning buffet tables lining "one of the unending walls". Ambani, his wife and three children are to live in the 174-metre (570-feet) tall home, which according to reports has six floors of parking, swimming pools and a cinema. It is named after the mythical Atlantic island "Antilia". One newspaper said the residence epitomised "the swagger and confidence of India's economically buoyant upper echelons". Ambani, 53, is India's wealthiest man with a 27-billion-dollar fortune, according to Forbes. Anti-poverty campaigners have highlighted the contrast between the home and the plight of many in Mumbai, where half of the estimated 18 million population live in slums, with sketchy or non-existent power and water supplies. The gulf between rich and poor is visible just a short walk from Ambani's residence on Altamount Road, where entire families can be found living under a flyover and on pavements near foreign consulates and exclusive boutiques. Guests at the residence, which has a temple on the ground floor and a personal library on the top, included Bollywood stars Preity Zinta and Aamir Khan as well as Indian billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla. "It's great to breathe fresh air at this height and leave Mumbai's pollution down below," one unnamed guest was quoted as saying about the vertical mansion with its panoramic views of Mumbai and the Arabian Sea beyond. Designed according to Vaastu principles, an Indian tradition much like feng shui -- said to move energy beneficially through the building -- the building looks from the outside like a tall pile of books of varying sizes. Mukesh Ambani's elderly mother also has quarters at the new home. She will commute between Antilia and the 14-storey residence of her younger son Anil where all family members previously lived under one roof -- albeit on separate floors, novelist De reported. Ambani's younger brother Anil held a "parallel party" at the family's original Seawind residence the same night, De said. The siblings in May publicly ended a bitter feud arising from the division of the vast conglomerate left by their rags-to-riches father Dhirubhai, who died in 2002 without a will. However they are still rarely seen together. WHAT'S INSIDE Lobby Nine elevators line the lobbies. Two are designated for the carparks. Lounges For guests to have a quiet area for meetings and discussions. Entertainment level Includes a 50-seat theatre accompanied by a wine bar, snack room and entertainment space with couches and tables. Ballroom Crystal chandeliers adorn the ceiling and silver staircases lead up to a central landing. A full kitchen next to it handles meals. 印度首富穆克什·安巴尼 “安迪利亚”的外观设计错落有层次 印度少数民族事务部官员阿西西·约希日前发函中央监察委员会，表示印度信诚工业集团主席安巴尼在孟买的超级豪宅“安迪利亚”(Antilia)涉嫌非法侵占教产。 约希10月25日致函中央监察委员会，详述腐败公务员如何滥用职权，非法移转原为孤儿院预定 地的教产土地，供重要企业大亨盖豪宅。中央监察委员会已经开会讨论过此事，要求孟买所在的马哈拉什特拉邦政府提供资料。安巴尼办公室拒绝就此评论，其发言 人重申该房地产并不属于马哈拉什特拉邦教产委员会，而且当初购地时，所有人已获合理补偿。 该土地占地面积4532平方米，2003年被马哈拉什特拉邦教产委员会官员以2亿1050万 卢比(约合3088万元人民币)价格贱卖给安迪利亚广告公司。约希在函中表示，当时土地巿值至少为50亿卢比(约合7.34亿元人民币)。约希的这封举报 信标题为“一起经典的腐败案例”，他严辞批评称，这一案件显示，印度的权贵阶层与腐败公务员勾结，蔑视法律和整个宪政体系。 本月初，安巴尼一家搬进这座历时7年打造的“世界头号豪宅”。据悉，27层楼的“安迪利亚” 地板面积为4.88万平方米，楼高173米，市价高达10亿至15亿美元。该超级豪宅屋顶可停3架直升机，顶楼设有航管中心。楼层由上到下依次是：可将阿 拉伯海一览无余的住宅；楼管中心；客房；泳池、水疗与健身房；户外花园；50席的电影院；1到6楼为可停160部车的停车场。 53岁的安巴尼拥有数个石油、零售和生物技术公司。在最近一期的《福布斯》杂志上，安巴尼的资产总额高达180亿美元，是印度的首富，也是世界第四大富豪。 马哈拉什特拉邦主席赛义德·萨巴布丁说：“我认为这幢建筑不可能被推倒，比较现实的做法是促使安巴尼为这块地付出现在的市场价。”