Billionaire is building himself the world’s most expensive home
Published on Oct 24, 2023 at 6:14 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Nov 22, 2024 at 4:47 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Billionaire and hedge-fund manager, Ken Griffin, is building the world’s most expensive home.
The mogul is worth an estimated $34.2 billion.
He already splashed out $238 million for an NYC penthouse, the most anyone has paid for a piece of residential property in the US.
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Now he’s set to break another record as he builds the world’s most expensive home.
Founder and CEO of Chicago-based, Citadel, its move to Miami signalled a homecoming for the Florida native.
Returning to home soil, his record-breaking mega-estate is being erected in Palm Beach.
Already a playground for the rich and famous – the high-end area has never seen anything quite like the world’s most expensive home
Longtime real estate broker, Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates, helped Griffin acquire the the largest estate in Palm Beach.
He purchased more than 20 acres of prime real estate for his venture over 10 years.
The 55-year-old business mogul has demolished existing homes on the site.
Records show he’s already invested $450 million in real estate, fees and tear downs.
Now that’s done, he’s spending between $150 to $400 million on a sprawling ocean-to-lake mega-estate according to industry insiders.
It’s estimated that, on completion, the home will be worth $1 billion.
He already owns 27 acres of beachfront real estate on the Intracoastal Waterway.
The site of the mega-estate is just a quarter mile south of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago.
They sit along a a stretch of South Ocean Boulevard best known to locals as “Billionaires’ Row”.
An anonymous insider spoke to the New York Post.
“If he spent nearly half a billion to buy up acres of land in Palm Beach over the last decade and is expected to spend $150 million more to build an entirely new home, that piece of property is worth at least $1 billion now,” they said.
Zia Ahmed, a spokesperson for Griffin, told the publication that it’s Florida’s policies causing property values to soar in the area.
“The vast majority of the properties Ken owns are in South Florida,” she said.
“Palm Beach real estate is among the most valuable in the world because of the pro-growth and pro-business policies voted for by the citizens of Florida.”
Griffin revealed his beachfront mansion will be built on a 7.5-acre portion of his estate.
Including a service basement, the contemporary-style house and guesthouse will be a whopping 50,000 total square feet total.
Sources close to the project have revealed that Blossom Way, will initially be used by Griffin’s mother, Catherine Gratz Griffin.
He eventually plans to transform the estate into a retirement home.
In May, Griffin filed an agreement with the county to consolidate all parcels on Blossom Way with his Ocean Boulevard properties.
This will create a single vast estate.
The Architectural Board approved a house on the north side of his Billionaires’ Row estate in June 2022.
The ocean-front mansion has been designed for his mother, family members and guests.
It sits on approximately eight acres.
Meanwhile, an application for a property in the southern part of the compound was recently submitted for approval.
This estate will occupy approximately eight of the 27 acres off South Ocean Boulevard.
Construction machinery is already visible at the site.
Renderings offer a glimpse into the design of the world’s most expensive home with breathtaking view of the Atlantic Ocean.
It will feature an upper event lawn leading to a magnificent swimming pool with windows on both sides.
The estate will also feature several landscaped gardens and a caretaker’s cottage
The saga began in December 2012 when Griffin, via his companies, acquired four adjacent properties totalling eight acres on Blossom Way.
It gave him an astounding 560 feet of oceanfront.
This cost a recorded $129.6 million.
Griffin now owns a string of properties along Blossom Way including addresses 10-70.
This includes $15.25 million for 1.44 acres of non-waterfront properties.
He also splashed $85 million on an oceanfront mansion.
And $20 million on a lakefront property.
A company linked to Griffin paid $99.13 million for a mansion that has since been razed.
Likewise one of his enterprises paid $104.99 million for another property adding 4.5 acres.
The world’s most expensive home will feature stone exteriors and modern, sleek lines.
The rest of his estate remains undeveloped, leaving ample room for future expansion.
Aside from the world’s most expensive home, the financier also invested $83 million for an office space.
It’s located on iconic Palm Beach shopping boulevard, Worth Avenue.
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
