$159 Million Mansion In Florida Can Be Yours If You’ve Got The Cash

A $159 million mansion outside Miami can be yours if you can convince a bank to issue a mortgage — or better yet, if you’ve got that kind of scratch lying around.

Le Palais Royal is, according to real estate agent William PD Pierce, the most expensive private residence listing in the United States. The $159 million mansion is located along the beach in Hillsboro, Florida (935 Hillsboro Mile, to be exact), 12 miles north of Fort Lauderdale.

The 11-bedroom, 60,000-square-foot mansion, which hasn’t even been fully built yet (construction is expected to be completed “soon,” according to The Sacramento Bee), was last for sale in 2014, for a mere $139 million. But since then, the mansion’s owner, construction magnate Robert Pereira, has decided to add two guest houses, another pool, and an “underground entertainment complex that will include an ice-skating rink, go-cart track, bowling alley and nightclub,” raising the asking price by another $20 million.

The word “luxurious” doesn’t even begin to describe Le Palais Royal. On the mansion’s listing, the real estate agent describes the place by invoking European castles.

“Through its grand entrée with seamless double, ‘day and night’ custom designed doors, one of bronze encased glass and the other of solid mahogany with 22-karat gold leafing, opening beneath the grand escalier made of marble with steel-iron railing, taking craftsmen more than two years to realize with an investment of $2 Million. The grand entrée and grand hall open up to the capacious Le Salon with endless panoramic views of the Atlantic Blue. The imposing fireplace, ornamented with a mirrored inlay reflects the ocean splendor, coupled with four Corinthian-marbled columns, personifying greatness; The ornate hand-molded plaster and ceiling appliques combined with five chandeliers, lighting and complimenting sconces all help to create an atmosphere that is both elegant and inviting.”

Other features of the mansion include a 30-car garage, his-and-hers private boat docks, a private IMAX theater, a wine cellar capable of storing 3,000 bottles, and six waterfalls. As an added bonus, all of the mansion’s balconies, fountains, gates and doors are coated in 22-karat gold leaf, worth a total of $3 million. By comparison, the average home price in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties is $300,000 meaning the gold alone in this mansion is ten times more expensive than the average home in that part of South Florida.

To give you a perspective on just how expensive a $159 million mansion is: the property taxes alone on the mansion were $143,425 in 2013 — before the mansion’s ongoing $20 million expansion. A 30-year mortgage, if you can find a bank to issue you one for $159 million, would carry a monthly payment of $940,563, not counting escrow for taxes and insurance.

At $159 million, Le Palais Royal is the most expensive real estate listing in the United States right now, but that does not make it the most expensive home in the country to ever sell. That honor goes to Palazzo D’Amore, the Beverly Hills, California, mansion that formerly belonged to billionaire Jeff Greene, which recently sold for $195 million, according to DB Techno.

Outside the U.S., nailing down the most expensive home is tricky, due to fluctuations in currency and the ever-changing real estate market. As of July, 2015, according to The Street, the most expensive home in the world is Antillia, in Mumbai, At 27-stories high and offering 400,000 square feet, the home is worth an estimated one billion dollars.

Would you live in a $159 million mansion, if you could afford it? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

[Image via William Pierce]