India's richest man builds world's first billion-dollar home

Mukesh Ambani is having a few friends round to celebrate moving into his new Mumbai pad. But as the home has 27 storeys, soars to 173 metres and is worth an estimated £630m, it will be a housewarming like no other. The building – named Antilia, after a mythical island – will be home to Ambani, the richest man in India and the fourth richest in the world, plus his wife and their three children. It contains a health club with a gym and dance studio, at least one swimming pool, a ballroom, guestrooms, a variety of lounges and a 50-seater cinema.



Those lucky enough to have received an invitation to the housewarming later this month will be able to choose a variety of means of transport to get there. If they want to avoid Mumbai's gridlock, there are three helicopter pads on the roof. If they do drive, they will not have any trouble parking: there is space for 160 vehicles on the lower floors.

Once in, nine lifts will take the guests from the lobby to upper levels, where the festivities will take place. On the top floors, with a sweeping view of the city and out over the Arabian Sea, are quarters for the 53-year-old tycoon and his family. Overall, there is reported to be 37,000 sq metres of space, more than the Palace of Versailles. To keep things running smoothly, there is a staff of 600.



It cost an estimated £44m to build but, because of Mumbai's astronomic land and property prices, will be worth about 15 times that amount – £630m. "Antilia is marvellous, I remember a Picasso painting [there], it was one of its kind – stunning," one local businessman who visited the building said. Experts say there is no other private property of comparable size and prominence in the world.

There are more details about the house here.