5 of the Biggest Homes in the World

With more than 1,500 billionaires in existence in the world, it is safe to assume that there are some very large, lavish homes out there.  While some high-net worth home owners aim for the most unique house or the most expensive house in the area, others decided that the only way to approach their residence was to go big.  This resulted in what are called “mega-mansions”, houses that are typically larger than 20,000 square feet and that contain amenities rivaling those of a luxury hotel.

Unsurprisingly, many of these homes are located in the USA.  This is in part because America has the highest number of billionaires and also because it aligns nicely with the notion of the American Dream.  In Europe, residences of this scale were typically only built for members of royal families and are either still used by them or are now public historic landmarks.  In America, large-scale mansions started being built during the Gilded Age for those who were successful entrepreneurs, like the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers.  With their great self-made and tax-free incomes, all they needed were homes of palatial proportions to secure their positions as American royalty.

It would seem that this tradition is still strong today.  In Europe, the construction of manors has somewhat slowed down and the size of these homes have remained mostly steady.  However, in America and elsewhere, homes are reaching new heights, widths, and lengths.

Here are 5 of the biggest single-family private homes in the world.

5.  Fairfield Pond, New York, USA – 43,000 square feet

The Fairfield Pond mansion is located in The Hamptons, an area long known for its large, expensive, and opulent homes.  Due to its proximity to New York City and its composition of lovely seaside villages, The Hamptons is a place that is appealing to billionaires like Ira Rennert, Fairfield Pond’s owner.  When Fairfield Pond was first being built, there were rumors about its use, some of them being commercial which resulted in the town putting a halt on construction.  These rumors were eventually dispelled and construction resumed on the private residence.  In the end, the mansion’s size is not even confirmed due to the multitude of buildings on the 63 acre property and what is considered to be truly part of the house.  Forbes lists the mansion as being 43,000 square feet and containing 29 bedrooms, 39 bathrooms, a bowling alley, a 164-seat movie theater, and anything else you could possibly imagine.

4.  The Spelling Manor, California, USA – 56,000 square feet

Along with producing television shows such as Charlie’s Angels and Beverly Hills 90210, Aaron Spelling is known for building the Spelling Manor.  Sometimes simply referred to as The Manor, the residence was built after demolishing the original house on this property that was previously owned by Bing Crosby.  What replaced Crosby’s house would have been unimaginable in his day; a house containing a dog grooming room, five bars, a wine cellar and tasting room,  a China room, a “gift-wrapping” room, a flower-cutting room, a home theater, multiple games rooms, a bowling alley, and a even beauty salon.  Funnily enough, the house has only seven bedrooms.  Once Spelling died, his wife sold the house to Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone and her husband James Stunt, a London businessman.  It is said that they paid for the $85 million manor in cash.

3.  Pensmore, Missouri, USA – 72,000 square feet

It is a little hard to believe that one of the largest houses in America is being built in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri.  Perhaps this is why the unfinished private residence is the subject of a variety of conspiracy theories, including that it is the future governing site of the Illuminati.  Though the thought of people ruling the world from Missouri is highly entertaining, one must wonder who will actually be purchasing this massive mansion.  Interestingly, despite the huge expense of purchasing the property, the mega-mansion is expected to cost next to nothing to heat and cool due to its construction and use of sustainable technologies.  This is partially why Missouri was chosen as the site for this house, the variable climate provides an excellent testing ground.  Furthermore, Missouri is subject to natural disasters, and this house has been designed to resist them all from tornadoes to earthquakes.

2.  Versailles, Florida, USA – 90,000 square feet

The house that is set to be the largest single-family residence in America is still under construction, just like Pensmore.  Nicknamed Versailles due to its size and design, the house is set to be complete in 2015 after 11 years of construction.  For a number of years, construction was halted by owner David Siegel due to financial issues.   Similarly, the construction of the original Versailles nearly bankrupted the entire nation of France, a resemblance that the Siegels are probably less eager to point out.  When it is complete, the home will feature a spa, an industrial-grade kitchen, yoga studio(s), “man cave(s)”, and many more luxurious amenities.  Due to the record-breaking size of the house, interest in the family who owned it grew, and a documentary was made about the house and the family, entitled The Queen of Versailles.  The film itself was received well by viewers and critics alike, and even won an award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.  However, Siegel did not like how he and his company were portrayed in the film and filed a civil suit.  The suit was later ruled not defamatory to Siegel or Westgate Resorts and required them to pay $750,000 to the director.

1.  Antilia, Mumbai, India – 400,000 square feet

The only residence to make the list that is not built on American soil is Antilia, a 570 foot-tall structure located in downtown Mumbai.  The owner of the building is Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, an Indian holding company.  The building, which is almost as large in square feet as Windsor Castle in England, has 27 floors but because most floors have extra-high ceilings, its height is comparable to a 40-storey building.  Among these 27 storeys lie a health floor, movie theater, several levels of parking, and much more.  The house is so large and contains so many amenities that it is valued at over $1 billion, making it the most expensive house in the world.  Because it is so otherworldly, its name comes from that of a mythical island that was said to exist west of Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean.  Unfortunately, the level of luxury that Antilia embodies and conveys is but a myth to many who live in India, as most of its citizens live on less than 2 USD per day.  Because of this, Antilia and its owner have many critics, with many calling the construction “inappropriate” and one writer even declaring it a potential “regretful nightmare”.

5 of the Biggest Celebrity-Owned Private Islands

A private island is one way to spend your fortunes, albeit a pretty expensive way to do so. However, gone are the days of requiring billions of dollars in the bank to buy you a private getaway island. You just need millions nowadays. It’s a pretty solid investment to be fair. You are guaranteed privacy, you can do what you want and nobody can boss you around. You can be king or queen, president, prime minister – the whole government, really. A private island is yours and yours alone.

It tends to not be your average Joe who is in the island-buying business, though. Nine times out of ten it is a celebrity, businessman or lottery winner – basically anyone who has millions of dollars to spare. This form of elite real estate has been growing in popularity since the turn of the century. It’s easy to see why.

Hey, even if you have thousands of dollars to spare you can buy a budget island in the region of $250,000! It’s not only for multimillionaires. According to Private Islands Online, the world’s online private island marketplace, islands can not only be bought but also rented – one beautiful island in Fiji, South Pacific, rents at $1000-1500 per night. Talk about a dream vacation!

Most island owners, though, are rich. Private island real estate is known as “a luxury of the 0.001%” so it is fair to say we would know the names of plenty of these people. On that note, here are five celebrities who bit the bullet and bought big – and expensive.

5 Nicholas Cage: 30 acres

Location: Bahamas

Size: 30 acres

Price: $3.6 million (sold in 2009)

Okay, this is cheating slightly as a cay is technically not a full island. The definition of a cay is “a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of a coral reef”, so it is pretty island-ish. However, kicking off our list is eccentric actor Nicholas Cage, who is no stranger to the elite real estate that is the sale and purchase of private islands. In 2006 he purchased Leaf Cay, an island in the Bahamas, with a view to creating a luxury getaway for his down time. This was not his first foray into island real estate though; Cage already owned a home on luxurious Paradise Island and was a regular visitor to the Bahamas.

Things were not to be at Leaf Cay though, as he sold the island after just three years reportedly because of an endangered native reptile scuppering his plans to create his dream island dwelling.

Today, the island is a luxury resort. With three beaches, a spa, rented accommodation and several other amenities, Leaf Cay is a popular, but expensive tourist resort.

4 Johnny Depp: 45 acres

Location: Bahamas

Size: 45 acres

Price: $3.6 million

Johnny Depp is the lucky owner of a pretty substantial cay in the Caribbean called Little Hall’s Pond Cay. Islands, and indeed cays, are no doubt a breath of fresh air for high-profile people like Johnny, who told Vanity Fair “I don’t think I’d ever seen any place so pure and beautiful. You can feel your pulse rate drop about 20 beats. It’s instant freedom.”

Reports suggest that Johnny fell in love with the way of life in the Bahamas when filming the multi-billion dollar franchise that is The Pirates of the Caribbean and was soon looking at property in the region. With six beaches, Johnny and his family are sure to make full use of the 45-acre property. Ever the environmentalist, Johnny once boasted to the press that the island would be 100% eco-friendly and, almost in the same breath, declared that the public or press would not be welcome on his island.

Apparently, the investments that Depp put into Little Hall’s Pond Cay, as well as inflation since the purchase ten years ago, makes the island’s current value an estimated $200 million! Not bad Mr Depp, not bad.

So much so is the island’s sense of freedom and seclusion that Johnny affectionately refers to the island as “F**k off Island”. Nice!

3 Leonardo DiCaprio: 104 acres

Location: Belize

Size: 104 acres

Price: $1.75 million

The Wolf of Wall Street star Leonardo DiCaprio purchased his Belize getaway back in 2005 for the pretty reasonable $1.75 million dollars. Blackadore Cay is a mere stone’s throw from the beautiful, and renowned, Great Barrier Reef. Leo apparently stumbled across Blackadore in 2004 when on vacation in the area and had big dreams to buy the island and turn it into a resort. In a move caught somewhere between Johnny Depp and some of the celebrities who will follow in this list, Leo’s ambition is to create and environmentally friendly holiday resort.

Reportedly, the star was in talks with Four Seasons Hotels about building an 80-room hotel, eco-friendly beach villas and amenities for visitors on the island. He also intends on installing a solar-powered air strip on the island for visitors to fly into! The location will no doubt attract clientele, but one would have to wonder just how expensive a stay on Leo’s island would be.

2 David Copperfield: 150 acres

Location: Bahamas

Size: 150 acres

Price: $50 million (estimated)

Illusionist David Copperfield used his magical ways to buy his island, Musha Cay, for an estimated $50 million in 2006. This is, of course, pocket change for David, whose work has earned him 21 Emmy Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a cool net worth of $800 million. The island was the setting for Google founder Sergey Brin’s 2007 wedding, hosted by David.

Unlike some of the more private celebrities on this list, Mr Copperfield welcomes visitors with open arms. For a small fee (rates start at $37,500 per day) Musha Cay welcomes up to 24 guests at any one time for an enjoyable, ultra private holiday experience. The island is surrounded by three other small islands in the bay (known as Copperfield Bay) to unsure ultimate privacy.

David’s neighbors in this region include comedian and actor Eddie Murphy who also owns an island in the region.

1 Mel Gibson: 5,440 acres

Location: Fiji

Size: 5,440 acres

Price: $15 million

Aussie Oscar winning actor Mel Gibson is the cream of the crop on this list. In 2005, Mel purchased Mago Island in the Fiji region for $15 million from a Japanese corporation. The exchange was not without its controversies; descendants of the Mago Island natives protested Mel’s purchase. However, the deeds were signed and the money was exchanged and Mel became the owner of Mago Island.

Mago is a volcanic island and is inhabited only by a few Fijian caretakers to look after the place when Mel is away filming. The notoriously private actor has not divulged much about his time on the island but the islands in the Fiji region are renowned for beautiful flora and fauna and crystal clear oceans.

Mago Island is a massive 5440 acres – so big that Johnny Depp’s island could fit inside it an astonishing 120 times – with room to spare! Now THAT is a private island and a half.

7 Most Spectacular Spits on Earth

In geography, spit is a landform made by the deposition of sand by the movement of tides. Spits are narrow and elongated – one end is attached to the mainland and the other is out in open water. A spit develops when waves meet the beach at an oblique angle, moving sediment down the beach and into the open waters where it is deposited in a narrow strip. As a spit grows, it might become stable and fertile and even support habitation. Here are some spectacular and scenic spits around the world.

Spurn Point

Spurn Point is one of the most striking feature of Britain’s coastline – a narrow spit just 46 meters across, on the tip of the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire, jutting out into the sea for five and a half kilometers across the Humber Estuary. On the tip is an enlarged head wherein lies a disused lighthouse and a lifeboat station.

Spurn Head covers 280 acres and composed of sand and shingle banks held together by Marram grass and Seabuckthorn. Spurn is a relatively small place, yet an important wildlife haven for migrant birds, lizards, roe deer and numerous species of insects. Being open to the ravages of the North Sea, this narrow strip of land has a very delicate ecosystem. On one side, plants have learned to adapt themselves to being immersed in water every 12 hours, while on the other side, where the sand is moving around, you’ll find plants designed to retain moisture.

Spurn Point is a nice place for birdwatchers – there are even accommodation for overnight stay. On a good autumn morning one can see 15,000 birds fly past with 3,000 quite normal.

Farewell Spit

Farewell Spit is located at the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand, running eastwards from Cape Farewell, the island’s northernmost point. It is the longest sandspit in New Zealand, stretching for about 26 km above sea level and another 6 km underwater. The spit runs in from west to east, and is made from fine golden sand – the spit is large enough to have its own sand dunes.

NASA satellite image of Farewell Spit.

The northern side of the dunes are steeper and unstable being constantly exposed to the prevailing winds which average over 25 km/h. The southern side, that which faces Golden Bay is more stable and largely covered with vegetation. The tide here can recede as much as seven kilometers exposing some 80 square kilometers of mud flats – a rich feeding ground for the many thousands of sea birds in the area, but also a trap for the frequently stranded whales.

The Spit is administered by the New Zealand Department of Conservation as a sea bird and wild life reserve. Apart from a small area at the base of the Spit it is closed to the public except through organized tours. There is a lighthouse at the end of the spit which you can visit.

Arabat Spit

The Arabat Spit in the Sea of Azov is the longest spit in the world at approximately 110 km in length. The spit is located between the town of Henichesk, Ukraine, on the north and the north-eastern shores of Crimea on the south, and separated from Henichesk by the Henichesk Strait. The Arabat Spit ranges from 270 meters to 8 km in width with a total surface area of 395 km2.

The spit is very young and was created by sedimentation processes around 1100–1200 AD. It was wild until 1835 when a road and five stations spaced by 25–30 km were built along it for postal delivery. Later in the 19th century, 25 rural and 3 military settlements and one village named Arabat appeared on the spit. The rural population amounted to some 235 people whose occupation was mostly fishery, farming and salt production. The latter activity is traditional for the region due to the vast areas of shallow and very saline water in the Sivash lagoons. About 24,000 tonnes of salt were produced every year during the 9th century on the Arabat Spitalone.

Around the 17th century, the Turkish army built a fortress to guard the spit and Crimea from invasions. The Arabat Fortress still stands on the southernmost part of Arabat Spit.

Dungeness Spit

Dungeness Spit is 8.9 km long and juts out from the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula in northeastern Clallam County, Washington, USA, into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It encloses a body of water called Dungeness Bay. It is the longest natural sand spit in the United States.

The Dungeness Spit is entirely within the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and home of the Dungeness Lighthouse. Visitors are allowed to hike all the way to the tip, where the lighthouse has been keeping guard since 1857. The extreme tip, however, like the Dungeness Bay side of the spit, is closed to public entry to protect important wildlife habitat. The refuge is a sanctuary for over 250 species of birds, 41 species of land mammals and eight species of water mammals.

Curonian Spit

The Curonian Spit is a 98 km long, thin, curved sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast. It stretches from the Sambian Peninsula on the south to its northern tip next to a narrow strait, across which is the port city of Klaipėda on the mainland of Lithuania. The northern 52 km long stretch of the Curonian Spit peninsula belongs to Lithuania, while the rest is part of the Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. The width of the spit varies from a minimum of 400 m in Russia to a maximum of 3,800 m in Lithuania.

The Curonian Spit is home to the highest drifting sand dunes in Europe. Their average height is 35 meters, but some attain the height of 60 meters. The spit is frequently visited by migratory waterfowl. Between 10 and 20 million birds fly over the feature during spring and fall migrations, and many pause to rest or breed there.

The spit also has several towns, the largest of which is Nida in Lithuania, which is a popular holiday resort, mostly frequented by Lithuanian and German tourists.

La Manga del Mar Menor

La Manga del Mar Menor or simply La Manga is a seaside spit in the Region of Murcia, Spain, about 22 km long and 100 metres wide on average, separating the Mediterranean Sea from the Mar Menor (Minor Sea) lagoon, from Cabo de Palos to the Punta del Mojón.

La Manga sandbar is cut off by natural channels that keep the two seas in contact with each other. As such, the space was untouched until the 1960s, when La Manga was discovered as a tourist resort and underwent a transformation which included the urbanisation of the area and the construction of tourist infrastructures. Today,La Manga is densely populated.

Homer Spit

The Homer Spit is located in Homer, Alaska, on the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula, jutting out into Kachemak Bay for 7.2 km. The spit is home to the Homer Boat Harbor that serves up to 1,500 commercial and pleasure boats at its summer peak.

The spit was inhabited by early natives who probably camped out there. A more permanent habitation grew up much later with the arrival of Americans. The turn-of-the-century settlers found the easterly end of the Spit a handy place to land boats and early-day coal shipping led to construction of a wharf and a company town there. When coal mining faded and fisheries became the focus, the wharf and eventually the harbor developed into an even more important key to the local economy.

The spit includes several attractions such as “The Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon”, which is an artificial “fishing hole”, campgrounds, hotels, and restaurants and the Salty Dawg Saloon, which is constructed out of several historic buildings from Homer. The Spit features the longest road into ocean waters in the entire world, taking up 10–15 minutes to cover by car. Hundreds of eagles gathered there in winter.

Glass Box in French Alps Allows Visitors to Walk 13,123ft Above Sea Level

You know what they say – if you’re afraid of heights, go to the highest mountain. For those having a chronic fear, here’s an extreme solution – a chance to walk on the glass box, set up 1,035 meters (3,396 ft) high on the Aiguille du Midi, mountain peak of the tallest mountain in Europe – Mont Blanc.

The construction has taken three years to build, and now it is finally open to the public. The novelty is the highest attraction in Europe and is commonly referred to as Step Into The Void. The experience of standing on the top of the mountain with one kilometer of empty space below your feet is simply astonishing and breathtaking (quite literally). But there is nothing much to be afraid of as the 5 walls of the box are made of three tempered glass layers (12 mm or 1/2 inch thick).

To be able to visit the brand new attraction (which, by the way, was inspired by Grand Canyon’s glass skywalk), the tourists must start their journey from Chamonix and take two cable cars that would bring them straight to the top. The return fare costs €55 (£46).



Election fever for Tamil Nadu film star lookalikes

By Imran Qureshi BBC Hindi, Tamil Nadu

 

 

The film-star lookalikes accompany candidates to their constituencies

There is always work for film star lookalikes in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. But in a state where politics and show business are intertwined, demand for their services massively increases during election season.

The heart-throbs of Tamil Nadu's booming film industry don't just sell films; some campaigners in Tamil Nadu firmly believe they help shift votes.
That is because in this southern state nostalgia is a powerful force.
During the campaigning season lookalikes of the late M G Ramachandran (popularly known as MGR), a film star and former chief minister of Tamil Nadu for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), can be seen on the election trail.
Vijayakanth, a notable Tamil actor and now the leader of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), also has a doppelganger campaigning for candidates.
Singing at rallies

The real MGR died in 1987, but he still has many lookalikes who are very popular

"I have already been booked by five people,'' Mr Thyagarajan, 59, a lookalike for MGR, told BBC Hindi.
"It's election time so once campaigning picks up, the demand for our presence also goes up,'' says Tand Kumar, 42, a lookalike for Vijayakanth.
Invariably their work involves accompanying candidates to their constituencies.
"I stand beside the candidates when they go in their open jeep. I wear the red tie that MGR, invariably, wore. I wear the dark glasses that MGR always wore. I wave at the crowd that gathers. If people come and shake hands with me, it means that I have made my presence felt,'' Mr Thyagarajan says.
Both are also professional singers and Mr Thyagarajan says he "belt[s] out popular songs... at political rallies".
The men are managed by Satish Kumar, whose company Every Second provides lookalikes to candidates.
"As the demand increases during elections, we provide not just Thyagarajan but others too. We have three MGRs,'' said Satish Kumar.
Mr Kumar said his company also had lookalikes of major politicians such as Muthuvel Karunanidhi, the DMK chief, as well as Jayaram Jayalalitha, the AIADMK leader and current chief minister.
Election performers The demand and their rates differ. They take part in live music shows and even perform at weddings.
"I used to earn 2,000 to 3,000 rupees ($33-50; £20-30) per appearance. Because of television shows, the rates have gone up. Nowadays, we earn about 5,000 rupees for a 09:00-18:30 canvassing event," said Mr Thyagarajan.
For both of these mimics, careers began in their living rooms as children. They decided to go professional and have been doing this work for the best part of two decades.
MGR died in 1987 and as Vijayakanth leads a powerful political alliance he has little time for entertaining.
But their legacy as entertainers-turned-politicians, adored by the Tamil masses, is now being exploited by candidates on the election trail

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-26711479