These 11 most expensive buildings in the world have cost their investors an arm and a leg. The motivation behind spending billions of dollars in the construction of these steel and concrete behemoths is most often profit, but in few cases there are other motives. For instance, Mukesh Ambani’s $2 billion home in Mumbai is more of a statement of his wealth and power, similar to those of India’s maharajas of old. Others, like One World Trade Center, are built to show defiance in the face of the enemy and restore national pride.
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The geographical distribution of the most expensive buildings around the globe can tell us a lot of the parts of the world that currently hold the economic power. The United States have 3 buildings on the list, 2 in Las Vegas and one in New York. The United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Macau have two each, while Saudi Arabia and India have one each. By the type, casinos and hotels are an overwhelming majority, with one residential building, a private home and a commercial building thrown into the mix. One thing they all have in common is that they instantly became landmarks in their respective cities and countries and some of the most popular tourist attractions (and most expensive ones as well) in the world. Some also made it onto the list of the tallest buildings in the world.
The sums spent on the construction are staggering. These 11 buildings on our list cost in total more than $47 billion. To put it into perspective, that is enough money to end the Greek crisis in a flash. Let’s see where all that money went.
11. Antilia
Construction cost: $2 billion
Location: South Mumbai
Owner/Investor: Mukesh Ambani
We start with the only private residence on our list and the second most expensive residence in the world after Buckingham Palace. Antilia was built in 2010 as a home of Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in India. Ambani employs 600 people to maintain his humble abode. The construction has been followed by several controversies, from purchasing the land from an orphanage for a price that several people stated was seriously under value to building helipads in one of the most densely populated area in the world. In terms of price per square feet, Antilia is the most expensive building on our list.
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