The Most Expensive Home in Beverly Hills Is a $129 Million Party Palace
At $129 million dollars, this estate is the most expensive home in Beverly Hills, California — and boy does it show.
Built by a real estate mogul who made his fortune during the housing crash, and designed with an excessive amount of extravagant riches, Palazzo di Amore is a home built for only the richest people in the world. But more specifically, it’s built for rich people who like to party. With an entire building devoted to entertainment, space for hundreds of guests and more than enough reasons to fall in love with wine, Palazzo di Amore is as unique as it is expensive.
Want to learn more about this ode to overabundance? Check out these facts about Palazzo di Amore.
Who Built It?
Jeff Greene, a real estate tycoon who made his fortune betting against the housing market before the crash, built the property.
The original property was just a half-built house and 25 acres, which he scored for $35 million in 2007. It then took Greene, a Democratic candidate running for governor of Florida, a full seven additional years to finish. He enlisted the help of famed luxury mansion developer Mohamed Hadid to get the job done.
Greene and his wife married on the property. Former boxer Mike Tyson was his best man.
It’s a Gated Retreat
The listing boasts that Palazzo di Amore has “state-of-the-art” security, although it doesn’t say exactly what — probably because they don’t want to tell would-be-robbers about all the bells and whistles.
What we do know is that to drive up to the home, you’ll need to get the nod from the guard house, drive up a quarter-mile driveway and pass through three sets of double gates.
Enter Into Extravagance
The first clue you’re walking into something extraordinary is the entrance hall. A bifurcated staircase adorned with custom black-and-gold railings wraps around a classically inspired seating area with open inset showcases.
A dazzling crystal chandelier lights up the patterned marble flooring below and intricate crown molding above.
It’s Got More Than Enough Space
Palazzo di Amore has about 53,000-square-feet of living space (35,000 in the main house alone) with 12 bedrooms and 23 bathrooms (specifically, 16 full and seven half baths).
The estate sits on 25 acres of pristine Beverly Hills landscaping and is located two miles above the historic Beverly Hills Hotel.
You’ll Join the Upper Crust of Taxpayers
On top of that $129 million entry fee, you’ll also need to pay $348,634 a year in property taxes — the top-end salary for the upper middle class, which is around $350,000.
But that’s bi-annually, so you only have to pay $174,317 twice a year. Simple.
It’s Discounted
Palazzo di Amore was the most expensive home on the marketplace when it listed at $195 million in 2015. Since then, the estate has taken two price cuts, one in 2015 and another in 2017. Or you can rent it for just $375,000 a month ($12,500 a day).
Amusingly, it even has its own review page on Google. Just one month’s rent would pay the tax bill.
Make a Choice: Swim? Or Reflect?
This home has at least two pools, one for swimming and one for pondering.
The main swimming pool is very large, and flanked by a dozen lounging chairs and a spa. But there’s also a rectangular reflecting pool that stretches out 128 feet.
The Plants Didn’t Come Cheap
Palazzo di Amore teems with lush vegetation, including a driveway lined with 30-year-old olive trees. The gardens, shrubs and trees cost over $5 million, according to The New York Times.
Have Your Own Private Wine Label
Drive up to Palazzo di Amore and you may notice rows upon rows of grape-bearing vines. That would be your very own vineyard, which produces between 400 and 500 cases of wine per year. Varietals include Sangiovese, Syrah, Cabernet, Merlot, Rosé and Sauvignon Blanc.
That’s a lot of wine — where will you keep all those bottles?
Check Out the Downstairs Wine Cellar
You’ll never run out of room in the extravagant wine cellar, which can hold an impressive 10,000 bottles along with a number of wine barrels — from which your vineyard’s varietals can be sniffed and quaffed to your heart’s content.
But don’t just drink them in the temperature-controlled corridors. Head on over to the tasting room with the barrel-vaulted ceiling and stone floors.
Greene must really like wine. In addition to the major wine cellar, there’s also a 3,000-bottle wine storage room coupled with a tasting area. It’s adjacent to the grand dining room, which has multi-colored marble inlaid floors and groin vault ceilings.
The Bar Is Money
Crack open a cold one, mix a drink or uncork some your own private label red in the upstairs bar. It’s a cozy little room with three bar seats, custom shelving and a hanging art installation of a one-dollar bill.
The Kitchen Is Amazing
If you feel like having something to pair that wine with, head on over to the main kitchen (or put your order in with the chef).
Designed by the upscale French firm Alberto Pinto, this grand chef’s kitchen includes a commercial walk-in refrigerator, two marble-inlaid islands, built-in booth seating and custom rustic woodwork cabinetry.
There’s also a secondary staff kitchen with two staff rooms, a three-car garage and two offices with separate entry.
Walk Through Paradise
Head down a small outdoor stairwell to a serenely lit floating glass walkway suspended above a shallow pool. Beautiful garden work and gnarled olive trees line the pathway.
At the end of the path? A place to get your groove on.
Don’t Panic. There’s a Disco.
One of the property’s flashiest features is a newly constructed, 15,000-square-foot two-story entertainment complex that’s completely separate from the main home. Opulence is still a key feature here. Limestone floors with maple and marble inlays, hand-painted ceilings and burl wood paneling adorn the structure.
Partying is its main purpose.
Perhaps the most striking room on the property, the entertainment complex’s full-blown discotheque features a state-of-the-art DJ booth, laser light system and gloriously expensive disco ball.
The ceiling is hand-painted with clouds, and the floor below it revolves. Views of downtown Los Angeles create a stunning backdrop.
Throwing the mother of all parties? Don’t worry about parking. There’s a 24-car garage for VIPs. Combined with outdoor parking, there’s enough space to accommodate 150 cars.
And the Theater Is Divine
Lots of big mansions have a home theater, but this one is extra extravagant.
The ceiling is a creation of sparkling chandelier pendants, wavy custom molding and a huge ceiling medallion set against a hand-painted night sky portrait.
The theater itself can seat 50 guests, and when you don’t feel like watching something on the big screen, call up a troupe: there’s a stage and a dressing room.
There’s Club-Style Dining
Adjacent to the discotheque lies a huge entertaining area outfitted with half-a-dozen circular tables with blue velvet chairs.
A bar faces the room, and the parquet wood flooring opens seamlessly into the outside pool-and-spa area.
There’s Classy Dining, Too
If your guests are of the more discerning nature, serve them in the more traditional dining room.
The crystal tiered chandelier, Roman column moldings, vaulted archways and Turkish-inspired décor are sure to impress.
Its Luxury Has no Limits
There’s also a “Moroccan Room,” made of materials carved and painted by the same people who work for the king of Morocco, and a Turkish spa with floor-to-ceiling Moroccan tiles.
Add to that a bowling alley, seven fireplaces, a VIP suite lined with silk upholstery and a full kitchen, a sunroom, an elevator, a tennis/basketball court and an outdoor barbecue station.
So who has $129 million to spare?