Inside the World's First Billion-Dollar Home by Matt Woolsey Friday, May 2, 2008 provided by Forbes.com While visiting New York in 2005, Nita Ambani was in the spa at the Mandarin Oriental New York, overlooking Central Park. The contemporary Asian interiors struck her just so, and prompted her to inquire about the designer. Nita Ambani was no ordinary tourist. She is married to Mukesh Ambani, head of Mumbai-based petrochemical giant Reliance Industries, and the fifth richest man in the world. (Lakshmi Mittal, ranked fourth, is an Indian citizen, but a resident of the U.K.) Forbes estimated Ambani's net worth at $43 billion in March. Reliance Industries was founded by Mukesh's father, Dhirubhai Ambani, in 1966, and is India's most valuable firm by market capitalization. The couple, who have three children, currently live in a 22-story Mumbai tower that the family has spent years remodeling to meet its needs. Like many families with the means to do so, the Ambanis wanted to build a custom home. They consulted with architecture firms Perkins + Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates, the designers behind the Mandarin Oriental, based in Dallas and Los Angeles, respectively. Plans were then drawn up for what will be the world's largest and most expensive home: a 27-story skyscraper in downtown Mumbai with a cost nearing $2 billion, says Thomas Johnson, director of marketing at Hirsch Bedner Associates. The architects and designers are creating as they go, altering floor plans, design elements and concepts as the building is constructed. The only remotely comparable high-rise property currently on the market is the $70 million triplex penthouse at the Pierre Hotel in New York, designed to resemble a French chateau, and climbing 525 feet in the air. When the Ambani residence is finished in January, completing a four-year process, it will be 550 feet high with 400,000 square feet of interior space. The home will cost more than a hotel or high-rise of similar size because of its custom measurements and fittings: A hotel or condominium has a common layout, replicated on every floor, and uses the same materials throughout the building (such as door handles, floors, lamps and window treatments). The Ambani home, called Antilla, differs in that no two floors are alike in either plans or materials used. At the request of Nita Ambani, say the designers, if a metal, wood or crystal is part of the ninth-floor design, it shouldn't be used on the eleventh floor, for example. The idea is to blend styles and architectural elements so spaces give the feel of consistency, but without repetition. Antilla's shape is based on Vaastu, an Indian tradition much like Feng Shui that is said to move energy beneficially through the building by strategically placing materials, rooms and objects. Pricey Pad Atop six stories of parking lots, Antilla's living quarters begin at a lobby with nine elevators, as well as several storage rooms and lounges. Down dual stairways with silver-covered railings is a large ballroom with 80% of its ceiling covered in crystal chandeliers. It features a retractable showcase for pieces of art, a mount of LCD monitors and embedded speakers, as well as stages for entertainment. The hall opens to an indoor/outdoor bar, green rooms, powder rooms and allows access to a nearby "entourage room" for security guards and assistants to relax. Ambani plans to occasionally use the residence for corporate entertainment, and the family wants the look and feel of the home's interior to be distinctly Indian; 85% of the materials and labor will come from outside the U.S., most of it from India. Where possible, the designers say, whether it's for the silver railings, crystal chandeliers, woven area rugs or steel support beams, the Ambanis are using Indian companies, contractors, craftsmen and materials firms. Elements of Indian culture juxtapose newer designs. For example, the sinks in a lounge extending off the entertainment level, which features a movie theater and wine room, are shaped like ginkgo leaves (native to India) with the stem extending to the faucet to guide the water into the basin. On the health level, local plants decorate the outdoor patio near the swimming pool and yoga studio. The floor also features an ice room where residents and guests can escape the Mumbai heat to a small, cooled chamber dusted by man-made snow flurries. For more temperate days, the family will enjoy a four-story open garden. In profile, the rebar-enforced beams form a "W" shape that supports the upper two-thirds of the building while creating an open-air atrium of gardens, flowers and lawns. Gardens, whether hanging hydroponic plants, or fixed trees, are a critical part of the building's exterior adornment but also serve a purpose: The plants act as an energy-saving device by absorbing sunlight, thus deflecting it from the living spaces and making it easier to keep the interior cool in summer and warm in winter. An internal core space on the garden level contains entertaining rooms and balconies that clear the tree line and offer views of downtown Mumbai. The top floors of entertaining space, where Ambani plans to host business guests (or just relax) offer panoramic views of the Arabian Sea. Copyrighted, Forbes.com. All rights reserved.ADVERTISEMENT -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Me thinks this is a crazy waste of money ......
In a country where half the people live in poverty, we have someone living off daddy's money building a billion dollar house. That is awesome.
Well, as much as I don't like Microsoft. You have got to love Bill Gates. He donates most of his money to charity instead of wasting them like those rich a-hole does.
What a waste. That much money could be spent so much better else where. I know it's his money and all and he can spend it where ever he wishes. But IMO....major waste.
Waste of Money? That was my first thought but then I think to myself How many people were employed in the building of this thing will that money 'trickle' to the economy? Just asking Rocket River
I love how people are so freakin quick to judge waste of money? says who? if i had 43 billion to my name - i'd probably do the same thing... why the hell not... who says i have to be like bill gates?
Those people would also be employed if the money were spent in some other, more constructive way. Yes, I think it's a waste of money. It's also a waste of energy and materials as well as an eyesore.
Agreed. I might very well do the same. How do the rest of you all know that this guy isn't a philanthropist? How do you know he hasn't already given millions or even billions to charity? I know there are plenty of left-leaning folk on here, but come on. Its his money. Sheesh.
Article says that 85% of material and labour was provided by Indian artisans. So most of the money stays in the local economy.
that's stupid. why would someone need/want that? waste of moneY??? i dont have a problem with that. also waste of resources. which i do have a problem with
edited. If you're building a $1B home in a country that is as poor as India (there's a disgusting level of poverty in that place....depressing, in fact), you surely lack sympathy and compassion.
The only thing i dont like is that India, particularly Mumbai, is full of millions of people without shelter and food. It's just morally wrong. If it was in the US, i couldnt care less cause its the richest nation in the world and full of billionaires. As for labor, there are going to be a lot of full time servants, though only 3 residents. I have heard of guys like Mittal and other Indians doing a lot of chairty work, but Ambani is not known as a charitable guy.
Thats bull****. Lakshmi Mittal is an extremely charitable guy and he is the fourth richest in the world. How does your few experiences mean Indians lack sympathy and compassion. Thats why they live in joint families? There is a lot of giving in teh nation. There are temples, such as Tirupati, where indians give millions of dollars. And not only that, it isnt even used on Hindu needs, but most of it goes to helping Cristians and Muslims. The poverty in the nation is improving significantly if you ever noticed that it is the second fastest growing nation in the world with wages improving fastest in the world. My personal opinion, you are white trash. And for people like you to say others lack sympathy and compassion, is a joke.
I am Indian. I have compassion. But if I have $43B and I want to spend $2B on a house... screw the rest of you... i'll do it.
Well... i'll take that back somewhat... i have compassion, but nowhere near as much as most people in this world... however my parents, who were born in India, are generous... way to generous... to a fault in my mind... i'm nowhere near as sympathetic or compassionate as most on this board... which is likely why all of the replies to this house have rubbed me the wrong way.