At $195 Million, It's the Priciest Home in America
When I heard about the recently listed Palazzo di Amore in Beverly Hills, I couldn’t help but wonder if the price might be a publicity stunt. I mean, it would have to be pretty lavish to merit a price tag more than twice the price of that crazy Trousdale Estate that Beyonce and Jay Z are considering, or ten times as much as Lady Gaga’s Malibu horse property with the Bat Cave.
But when I looked into this 12 bedrooms and 23 bathroom property with a working vineyard on 25 prime acres, I began to believe. The main residence alone measures about 35,000 square feet, while the entire estate encompassing about 53,000 square feet of interior living space. The master suite alone is bigger than most people’s entire houses, measuring over 5,000 square feet. And there are sweeping canyon and city views from just about everywhere.
But it’s the newly constructed, 15,000 square foot entertainment center that really takes the cake. It features a disco/ballroom with a revolving turntable style dance floor, a DJ booth and a laser-light system, as well as a 50-seat private screening room, a bowling alley and a game room. For more formal occasions, it can accommodate up to 250 guests for a seated dinner. The interior is mostly finished with limestone floors with marble and maple inlay, hand-painted ceilings, and paneling of maple burl wood. Entry to the two-level structure is through a spectacular floating glass floor walkway over pools and lined by 70 year old olive trees.
Of course luxury specialists Joyce Rey and Stacy Gottula of Coldwell Banker Previews International are representing the property. In 2013, they set a record for selling the most expensive home in Beverly Hills, a $58 million estate by luxury developer Mohamed Hadid, who also developed Palazzo di Amore.
So who can afford the priciest home in America? My money (so to speak) is on a Russian oligarch, a member of some Middle Eastern royal family, or a newly minted Chinese gazillionaire who will visit it for three weeks every year. Or perhaps me, when I win the lottery and am able to accommodate a cancer research institute, a tribe of foster children, a no kill animal shelter and a large jacuzzi full of warm chocolate pudding on the premises. Fingers crossed. See more photos and get more info from my gallery on HGTV.com.