Extremes: The Most Expensive Home in America

What does William Randolf Heart's house have that makes it worth $165 million?

More on:

• Decorating
• Money
• Unbelievable

Got a spare $165 million? This could be the house for you. Actually, calling it a house doesn't do it justice. It's a 72,000-square-foot, six-building, six-and-a-half-acre Beverly Hills estate once owned by newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst -- and that asking price is the highest ever for a residential property in the United States. Broker Stephen Shapiro isn't worried about finding a buyer. "It will sell at or above that price," he says. One reason he may be right: The house is known to millions because its exterior was used in The Godfather to establish the posh setting for the infamous horse head scene. Who knows, Shapiro may even get an all-cash bid, thereby dodging the current mortgage crisis. Now, that would be an offer he couldn't refuse!

By the Numbers
1 Disco
3 Swimming Pools
29 Bedrooms
41 Bathrooms

10 hours
Estimated time to give all bathrooms a quick cleaning

$87 million
Box office take for The Godfather (made for $6 million)

Other Stuff Worth $165 million
Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger jet
Bill Clinton Presidential Library
All the maple syrup Canada exports per year
NASA's Mars Polar Lander

From Reader's Digest - January 2008

 

• Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires
• They’re just like you. But with lots of money.
• 
• Dreamers: From Jail to Wall Street
• His life may not be a rags-to-riches fairy tale, but it's pretty darn close.
• 
• Kathy Ireland's $1.4 Billon Business
• Supermodel Kathy Ireland turned heads before turning her vision into a $1.4 billion business.
• 
• 4 Ways to Boost Your Home's Value
• The strength of your house's structure can have a big impact on its value over time. Halt the ravages of nature by taking these small steps now.
• 
• Build a Classic Pergola on Your Property
• Get more shade with this low-maintenance retreat.
• 

During flight school, our instructor noticed that a young pilot wasn't wearing her earplugs correctly. "If you don't fix your earplugs, you'll turn into a deaf old man like me," he warned over the roar of helicopter engines.

She shot back, "If I turn into a deaf old man, I've got bigger problems than hearing loss."

-- Deborah Gatrell

Sponsored Links