Inside the most expensive house in America
Another world
The most expensive house in America recently went on sale with a price tag of $250 million (£200m). From the outside, it could easily look like every other Bel Air mansion, but the inside tells a different story, with one huge perk worth $30 million (£24m) alone. We take a look inside.
Say hello to Billionaire
Looking down on the building work at 924 Bel Air Road on Google Earth, you'd never believe this was the shell of the newest most expensive house in America – a $250 million (£200m) mega-mansion, nicknamed 'Billionaire', located in the heart of Bel Air, California.
The ultimate status symbol
This building work transformed the plot into America's most spectacular piece of real estate – an 800-square-foot mansion equipped with almost every super-rich status symbol imaginable.
Incredible views
The four-level house, with a 270-degree view of the Los Angeles skyline, was developed by Bruce Makowsky, who said he built it with the vision of creating the most luxurious house in America (tick), and a place where people could enjoy every element of the super-rich lifestyle in the comfort of their own home (tick again).
"A place you never want to leave"
"I saw the opportunity because people spend so much time on their toys – planes, boats and yachts – but they live in a home 12 hours a day. Home should be the best place it can possibly be. A place you never want to leave," Makowsky told the Washington Post. And he certainly achieved that.
Endless space
The mega-mansion contains two master suites, 10 over-sized VIP guest suites, 21 luxury bathrooms and three gourmet kitchens, not to mention a further 17,000 square feet of entertainment decks.
Curated art installations
It is, of course, decorated to the highest of standards, with over 100 curated art installations like this dotted all around the house.
Room for everyone
Inviting friends over is no problem at all. In fact, invite everybody you know to your new pad, because there's room for them all. The price of the house also includes seven members of staff, including a personal chef to help cook in the three gourmet kitchens.
Designer dining
The dining room features $3,500 (£2,800) Roberto Cavalli table settings and there are 450 speakers dotted around the house to pump sound through the home.
The best is yet to come
These are just some of the perks in the house, and many might not be particularly new to the typical Bel Air housebuyer. But the rest of the house is where it showcases its grandeur...
A private cinema
Makowsky said he wanted the buyer to feel as though they never wanted to leave, and why would they need to? The house comes with its own private cinema, big enough to seat you and all of your friends for movie night. There are over 7,000 videos downloaded and ready to play, so there's no reason not to make it a regular occasion.
A four-lane bowling alley
Alternatively, you could opt for a game of bowling. Children and adults alike could spend many a night playing on the lanes, all while feasting on pretty much any kind of candy you fancy.
A wall of candy
We weren't lying. The house doesn't just come with a few bags of candy, but an entire wall so you, your family or your friends can pick 'n' mix as much as you fancy.
Wine cellar
For adults looking for a wall of slightly stronger stuff, you can head down to the wine cellar, which is fully stocked with over 2,500 bottles of the best wine the world has to offer.
Gold Champagne
And you won't find any old bottle of Champagne either. As you head into the cellar, you'll be greeted with these bottles of gold Champagne from Jay Z and Beyonce's label, Armand de Brignac, which would typically set you back $760 (£608) a bottle. And we haven't even reached the biggest perk yet.
Massages on tap
After a night of bowling and booze, the house has plenty of opportunities for relaxing, with its own massage studio/wellness spa, including your own personal masseuse.
Home gym
What LA house would be the same without its own gym? Besides, if you're forking out $250 million for a house, you probably don't want to have to buy gym membership on top.
Infinity swimming pool
One of the most spectacular features of the house has to be the infinity swimming pool, which is 85 feet in size and sits casually on the roof, looking down onto the skyline ahead. It comes equipped with a 18-foot-wide hydraulic television screen that rises over the pool and is worth a cool $2 million (£1.6m). Not bad.
The $30 million perk
But we now reach arguably the best part of the house: the $30 million (£24m) auto gallery that comes with 12 cars, including a limited-edition Pagani, a 1936 Mercedes 540K (worth $15 million (£12m) alone), a Bugatti, a Rolls-Royce and a Bentley, just to name a few.
A place to pay the bills
And in case you actually need to do some work to help pay for this incredible lifestyle, there is of course an office for you to knuckle down.
In case you want to leave...
Water features surround the rest of the house, and there's even space to park up your own helicopter. You know, just in case you ever actually want to leave.
The dream home
But really, why would you? The most expensive house in America might set you back a quarter of a billion dollars, but it does come with more perks than you could dream of.