Saudi Crown Prince MBS Buys the World’s Most Expensive Home
Local Editor
Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman - who boldly put his royal cousins and members of his country's business elite under house arrest as part of an "anti-corruption" coup - has been outed as the secret buyer of the world's most expensive home.
Bin Salman, the 32-year-old heir to the Saudi throne, bought the $A392 million newly built chateau near Versailles in Louveciennes, France, the New York Times reported.
The home was constructed in three years by developer Emad Khashoggi, the nephew of the late arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. Emad tore down a majestic but crumbling 19th century chateau at the site to build the new one.
The property is smart-wired - all the fountains, lights, air, heat and sound can be turned on by an iPhone anywhere in the world. It also contains a moat filled with sturgeon and koi that can be seen from a transparent underwater room.
Bin Salman paid a jaw-dropping $A588 million, via a proxy prince, at auction for Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi this year.
In addition, he is the owner of a 440-foot yacht that is even more expensive than the house - a $A645 million vessel with two pools and a helipad, which he bought, on impulse, from a Russian oligarch after spotting it while holidaying in France. He was outed for that extravagantly pricey purchase thanks to leaked legal firm documents from Bermuda known as the Paradise Papers.
He also owns a 620-acre estate in Conde-Sur-Vesgre, known as "Le Rouvray," an hour outside of Paris.
Saudi-watchers say it is risky for bin Salman to jail enemies for corruption and tout fiscal conservancy at home, especially as oil prices drop, while he continues to pay record prices to add to his personal collection of the world's most expensive things.
Such actions betray him as yet another royal stealing from the wealth of his people instead of a reformer who has pledged to let women have basic freedoms, like the right to drive a car, critics charge.
Source: New York Post, Edited by website team
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