More mansions

The world's most expensive house when it was sold two years ago for 1/3 $billion owner has just been revealed.

Drum roll please, as the shocking news is it is a he 32 year old Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, MBS.



MBS is making a name for himself by cracking down on corruption among Saudi princes.

The French home is not his most pricely possession, as he bought this yacht at the same time.


Serene is one of the world's largest private superyachts. Built by Italian shipyard Fincantieri, Serene was delivered to its owner in August 2011. At delivery, she was one of the 10 largest yachts in the world with an overall length of 439 ft 4 in and a beam of 60 ft 8 in. The ship was built for Russian vodka tycoon Yuri Shefler for $330m. In the summer of 2014, Bill Gates leased the yacht for US$5 million per week.

Quote: Pacomartin

MBS is making a name for himself by cracking down on corruption among Saudi princes.

Nah, he is just holding them hostage until they disgorge some of the ill gotten gains but I doubt anything changes in Saudi society.

It looks like the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Harry and Meghan) will continue to reside the 1374 square foot cottage that Prince Harrry moved into in 2013 when his brother William upgraded to larger quarters. He is literally yards from his childhood apartment.

Prince Harry and Meghan share the palace with five of their relatives. His brother, his cousin, and three of his grandmother's cousins (plus their spouses).

Cottages
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Born 15 September 1984 (age 33) Nottingham Cottage
Princess Eugenie, Born 23 March 1990 (age 28) Ivy Cottage
Duke of Kent, Born 9 October 1935 (age 82) Wren House

Main Palace
Prince William Duke of Cambridge Born 21 June 1982 (age 35) Apt #1A
Duke of Gloucester, Born 26 August 1944 (age 73) Apt #1
Prince Michael of Kent, Born 4 July 1942 (age 75) Apt #10

Quote: Pacomartin

It looks like the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Harry and Meghan) will continue to reside the 1374 square foot cottage that Prince Harrry moved into in 2013 when his brother William upgraded to larger quarters. He is literally yards from his childhood apartment.

Kensington Palace is quite the joint.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kensington_Palace

Quote: Evenbob

Kensington Palace is quite the joint.

Yes it is, but three out of four of the Queen's living first cousins live in the palace. Now that the next generation is entering their 30's and getting married, they want the grand apartments.

Duke of Kent, Born 9 October 1935 (age 82) Wren House
Duke of Gloucester, Born 26 August 1944 (age 73) Apt #1
Prince Michael of Kent, Born 4 July 1942 (age 75) Apt #10


Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, KG, GCVO, CD Born 25 December 1936 (age 81) is the only first cousin who does NOT live in Kensington Palace.

Princess Alexandra lives about 10 miles away from Kensington Palace in Thatched House Lodge since 1963. The Lodge was built in the 17th century, and is located in Richmond Park . The main house has six reception rooms and six bedrooms, and it stands in four acres of grounds. The property includes gardens, an 18th-century two-room thatched summer house which gave the main house its name, a gardener’s cottage, stabling and other buildings. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was allotted a suite there during the Second World War.

You wonder if these tiny apartments can retain value year after year.

The first seven floors of the Central Park Tower will host a massive flagship Nordstrom’s. Three hundred feet above street level, the tower cantilevers slightly to the east to give its residents better views of the park. The building’s 179 residences range from two to eight bedrooms, measuring between 1,435 and 17,500 square feet.

Quote: Pacomartin

You wonder if these tiny apartments can retain value year after year.

They will as long as foreign money wants to stay in NYC. London, Dubai, Singapore, NYC, these are places where real money buys a place they use a few days per year. Kind of insane, but that is where we are.

Quote: AZDuffman

They will as long as foreign money wants to stay in NYC....

I was caught in Hurricane Hugo 29 years ago. I was eating in this restaurant in this photo, in St Croix, hours before the storm hit. As we went back to the island to do further testing a few weeks later, I was amazed at how many million dollar mansions were being sold for a fraction of their pre-storm damage, while all the middle class housing was being repaired.

I had demonstrated to me two things from that storm. How easy it is to turn a populace into raging violent animals , and how fast money leaves when there is a problem. You just take your insurance and your financial losses, and you go someplace else.

Quote: Pacomartin

I had demonstrated to me two things from that storm. How easy it is to turn a populace into raging violent animals , and how fast money leaves when there is a problem. You just take your insurance and your financial losses, and you go someplace else.

Money flows to safety and convenience. Same with Indonesian tsunamis, the tourists grab cameras, the locals grab motorbikes. The rich locals return to accept foreign aid into their banking system, the poor never see any of it.

Quote: Fleastiff

Money flows to safety and convenience.

Convenience certainly. The island had not been hit by a hurricane for decades, and would probably not be hit again for decades. Given time, the island would be just as attractive as it once way, and in most cases the main structure of the homes was not damaged. You needed new roofs and windows. Given that it was a small island that had undergone complete destruction any equipment needed had just jumped 400% in rental rate, and labor had a similar jump.

But the wealthy did not have the tolerance or the time. They simply sold out and moved to a different island. Panama and Costa Rica became popular since they are to close to the equator to catch most huricanes.

The big sail shaped building in Panama City is the JW Marriott Panama (formerly The Bahia Grand Panama, before that Trump International Hotel & Tower Panama, and before that Trump Ocean Club).


It is a 70-storey, 2,710,000 sq ft mixed-use waterfront hotel and condominium tower development in Panama City, Panama. It opened in 2011 as the first international "named branded development" of the Trump Organization. At 70 stories, it is the tallest building in Panama and the tallest building in Central America.


The project was designed by Colombian architects Arias - Serna - Saravia S.A. It includes a five-star hotel of 369 hotel condominium units, 628 residential condominium units, 1500 parking spaces, 36 retail shops, 10 story Office Tower a 75,000-square-foot casino operated by Sun International, daily ferry service to the Pearl Islands, yacht club and pier, wellness spa, gym, pool deck, meeting and event spaces, and a business center.
The building was developed by Roger Khafif, President of the K Group, a Panama resort developer and three Colombian partners by Newland International Properties Corp. The hotel opened on July 6, 2011. In September 2011 Fitch Ratings downgraded $220 million in bonds that Newland International Properties Corp. was using to finance construction of the building from B-sf to CCsf because of "continued uncertainty over the willingness and ability" of buyers to take possession of apartment units.

Newland licensed the Trump brand name; the hotel was the first international Trump "name branded" development to open.The Trump Organization managed the hotel under contract until March 2018, when Cypriot businessman Orestes Fintiklis, who had bought a majority stake in the hotel condominium association, legally ousted them and had the Trump name removed from the building in 2015 and from the hotel March 5, 2018. The hotel was renamed The Bahia Grand Panama.On June 28, 2018, it was announced that the hotel would become a JW Marriott. It was officially renamed on September 26, 2018.