French Villa Sells For $750 Million

An unidentified Russian billionaire has spent $750 million to buy a villa on the French Riviera, demolishing the previous global record for the sale of a private home, which was set by the 5th richest man on the planet, Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal's $114 million purchase of his London mansion.

According to the Times;

The price of the Villa Leopolda, a Belle Époque mansion on the heights of Villefrance, has amazed estate agents but fuelled local worries that the invasion of Russian money on the Côte d'Azur is getting out of hand.

Since the early 1990s, Russian oligarchs, drawn by memories of the Riviera-mad old Russian aristocracy, have been piling into seaside properties at Cap Ferrat, Cap d'Antibes, Saint-Tropez and the other great playgrounds.

None, however, has come near the price with which the unnamed Russian clinched the Leopolda deal with Lily Safra, the widow of Edmond Safra, a Lebanese banker who was killed by an arsonist's fire in Switzerland in 2003.

Russia, with 87 billionaires, is the No. 2 country behind the U.S. with the most billionaires, according to Forbes magazine.

Jean Pierre, a high-end agent, told the timesonline. "It's completely surreal and we are really uneasy. We don't dare any more to propose any price below €100 million for these clients. Anything below and they throw you out...and you should see how they do it," he told Le Parisien. The Nice Matin newspaper said: "At this price tag, we are beyond luxury and even reality."