Why Billionaires Don’t Pay Cash for Homes

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Today, we're going to look inside the top 10 most expensive homes in the world.

[00:00:08]>> [music] >> I'm going to tell you who owns them, what price [music] they paid, and the hidden financial strategies behind these mega deals, [music] because the real story is never the price tag. The real story is how they paid for it. Let's start with number 10. Number 10 is Malibu, California. It's a hundred and ninety million dollars. Oh lord. In 2023, Jay-Z and Beyoncé purchased [music] a 30,000 square foot concrete fortress designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. It sits on an eight-acre bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

[00:00:44]What's a bluff? Very good question. It really caught me right now. You're going to have to look in the comments below, cuz I don't even know what a bluff is.

[00:00:51]Do you? Anyway, it's in the Pacific Ocean and it's eight acres. Must be amazing at that price. Anyway, they reportedly paid cash, but here is the strategy. A property like this is a super store of value. It is uncorrelated to the stock market. It is insulated from inflation, and it is one of fewer than 50 properties in the world that will ever command this price point.

[00:01:11]Scarcity is the ultimate hedge. Number nine is also in Malibu. A 10-acre estate sold in 2024 for 210 million dollars. Wow. A record for California at that time. The seller was Jim Jannard, [music] the founder of Oakley. That's a lot of sunglasses. He bought it in 2013 for 75 million dollars. He sold it for 210 million dollars. That's a 135 million dollar gain. Billionaires don't flip houses.

[00:01:42]They compound capital in assets that cannot be replicated. Number eight takes us to the South of France, Villa Les Cèdres, purchased by 2019 by Rinat Akhmetov. I'm hoping that's the right pronunciation, and apologies if it's not. He's Ukraine's richest man for roughly 220 million dollars. This 14 bedroom estate was built in the 1830s.

[00:02:04]It was once owned by King Leopold II of Belgium. It sits on 35 acres in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

[00:02:11]But anyway, number seven is also on the French Riviera, Villa Leopolda. Valued at over 500 million dollars, apologies for my pronunciation. This estate has been owned by kings, billionaires, and private bankers for over a century. Why do the ultra-wealthy concentrate so much capital in the south of France? Because these properties are essentially illiquid [music] gold. They rarely trade hands. When they do, it is off-market, peer-to-peer, and financed through private banks in Switzerland or Monaco. Here is the strategy. If you own a 200 million dollar villa in Cap Ferrat, a private bank will lend you a 100 [snorts] million dollars against it at less than margins probably around 1%. You can also borrow against other investments that you hold to secure this asset at 100% loan-to-value. Can be done. You keep the asset, you pay zero tax on the borrowed capital. This is how the super-rich actually borrow. It's exactly what I write about in my book, How the super-rich borrow. Number six, 220 Central Park South, New York. I could sing but I won't. It's 188 million dollars [music] in 2022. Another interesting person that's name's going to cause me a challenge, Joseph Tsai, co-founder of Alibaba, paid 188 million dollars for a penthouse on the 73rd floor of this limestone tower. But number five is the record holder. In 2019, I've heard of this chap, Ken Griffin, have you? He's the founder of Citadel, one of the most successful hedge funds in history. He paid 240 million dollars for four floors. Who needs one when you can get four in the exact same building? It remains the most expensive residential sale in American history. Why would a hedge fund manager spend a quarter of a billion dollars on an apartment? Unbelievable. Because Ken Griffin [music] understands concentration of value. He is not buying an apartment. He is buying a monopoly on the premier asset in the premier building in the premier city in the world. He has spent over 1 billion dollars assembling a global real estate portfolio across New York, London, Miami, and Palm Beach. These are not homes. They are diversified hard asset portfolios designed to withstand any economic shock. Number four and three are a master class [music] in the dangers of over leverage. Number four is a 270 million dollar mansion on the peak in Hong Kong [music] purchased by Chinese property mogul Hong Tianchen in 2016. Number three, a 273 million mega mansion in Knightsbridge, London purchased by Xu Jiayin, the former head of China Evergrande in 2020.

[00:04:48]Both [music] men were billionaires at the time of purchase. Both men bought the ultimate trophy asset in two of the most expensive cities on earth, and both men lost them. When the Chinese property market collapsed, their empires crumbled. Lenders seized the assets. Xu Jiayin was detained by the Chinese authorities in 2023. This is the dark side of billionaire real estate. If you cross collateralize your personal trophy assets against your corporate debt, a margin call will wipe you out. At Million Plus, we structure debt to ensure this never happens. We ring-fence the asset. We protect the principal. We isolate the risk. The difference between a smart borrower and a bankrupt one is not the size of the loan. It's the structure of it. Number two, Chateau Louis XIV. It's in France. It's 300 million dollars. In 2015, Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, paid for this estate. It was actually built in the millennium, designed to look like it belongs next to the Versailles. It has a 57-acre landscaped park, a moat, and an iPhone-controlled fountain. It is the ultimate expression of sovereign wealth transitioning into [music] private European hard asset, but number one is in a league of its own.

[00:06:00]Antilia, Mumbai, India, owned by Mukesh Ambani, chairman of the Reliance Industries. It's an unbelievable property. I've seen it. It's incredible.

[00:06:08]Valued at approximately $2 billion.

[00:06:11]That's right, 2 billion. Antilia is a 27-story private skyscraper in the heart of Mumbai. There's three helipads, a 160-car park garage, a private cinema, and requires a staff of 600 people to operate. And when I visited Mumbai, I asked the locals why it was built, and it was built to give people hope.

[00:06:31]Incredible. It's the most expensive private residence on Earth. Most people think it's an ego play. It is not.

[00:06:37]Ambani built a vertical fortress in the center of one of the most densely populated cities in the world. It's the ultimate expression of security, privacy, and absolute control. When you are worth over $100 billion, your home is not a lifestyle choice. It's a statement of permanence. The world's most expensive homes are not about luxury. They're about power. They are financial instruments used to store wealth, secure cheap leverage, and protect capital from inflation and taxation. [music] They employ many, many people in many industries. Every single one of the homes on this list was financed, structured, or leveraged in a way that most people never see. This is the real story. If you are a high-net-worth individual, an exit founder, or a family office looking to acquire a trophy asset, you do not use traditional banking. You need bespoke, high-level leverage. You need strategic wealth structuring. That is exactly what we do at Million Plus. If you're looking to finance an international property, structure a complex mortgage, or position your capital efficiently, my team and I can help. DM or email me at [email protected].

[00:07:40]We will structure the leverage, secure the asset, and position you for the future. Email me today and let's get to work. And as always, thank you for watching. Please remember to like and subscribe and comment below. I'll be happy to help you.