Russians Knocking On French Villas’ Doors
There’s a new world record in the real estate world! A mysterious Russian billionaire has beaten his big-spender rivals and paid $500,000,000 for one of the most sumptuous villas on the French Riviera: Leopolda, situated in the region Alpes-Maritimes, between Nice and Monaco.
Now after looking at that number, you might be thinking to yourself that I maybe made a mistake by hitting the zero key a few too many times? Well, I assure you, that is the correct monetary amount! The Villa’s cost is really five hundred million euros.
Could you imagine what an unbelievable (Russian) invasion in French territory? It’s true that Russians have always been emotionally tied to French culture, language and manners. Since the early 1990s, Russian oligarchs, drawn by memories of the Riviera-old Russian aristocracy, have been piling into seaside properties at Cap Ferrat, Cap d’Antibes, Saint-Tropez and the other great playgrounds. However, this is by far the biggest purchase of it’s kind.
At the beginning of 20th century, Leopolda was the residence of Belgian King, Leopold II. Later on, during the First World War, it was transformed into a hospital for wounded soldiers. The present owner of Leopolda is Lily Safra, Edmond Safra’s (of Safra Bank) widow. There were times when Safra organized luxurious parties where you could see in attendance Ronald Reagan, Frank Sinatra and other greats. Before Safra, the Leopolda was Giovanni Aghelli’s property - the owner of Fiat.
One more interesting fact, according to Nice Matin newspaper, recently it was a rumor that the buyer of this villa would be Roman Abramovitch, the famous owner of the football club Chelsea, But it turns out that this is not the case and the buyer is still an enigma
Jean Pierre, a high-end agent, said to Le Parisien:
“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”.
It’s yet unknown who’ll be the new owner of this royal palace, but it seems that French society is not delighted that it is a Russian
The Nice Matin said: “At this price tag, we are beyond luxury and even reality.”
Le Parisien noted also that in this region the sun doesn’t shine for everybody. In Maritimes people live in the poorest condition on national level.
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