What price would you pay for luxury – $50 million? $100 million? $150 million? How about $200 million? Think that’s a bit too much for four walls, fancy tiles, floor to ceiling glass windows, and exclusive views of the London skyline?
Ukranian Oligarch Mr Akhmetov begs to differ with you. Back in 2007 Mr. Akhmetov bought this 25,000-square-foot apartment at One Hyde Park for $220 million (£135m) – a veritable drop in the ocean when you consider that his wealth is estimated at more than $16bn. But, plonking $220 million on the table gets you a lot more than a luxurious house located in an enviable neighborhood of London – it also brings to you the laurel of owning the most expensive apartment in UK. Now, that’s a heavy weight title that’s bound to come with its own set of special privileges.
So, what exactly do you get when you cough up such a phenomenal amount? This residential project started by Nick and Christian Candy (known for several other very posh and upmarket property investments) boasts of several interesting features. In addition to the usual jazz like private cinema, sauna, swimming pool, steam room, gym, and squash court, the One Hyde Park complex has some pretty interesting features as well, such as a lease that extends for 999 years, trained staff from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel working at your beck and call round the clock, and panic rooms and bullet proof windows in the penthouse. 
However, the interesting thing to note here is that this jaw-dropping, mind-numbing, sense-boggling figure of over $200 million bought Mr. Akhmetov only a shell of a house without the slightest hint of interior decoration or amenities. Many would feel a little cheated by this. All that money and nothing very much to show for it except empty living spaces? Not to mention the additional expenditure of close to $100 million to give this most expensive apartment some sense of livability! However, when someone dabbles in billions, this amount must seem like short change lying around in their wallets.
When the Candy brothers announced the One Hyde Park complex, the sheer extravagance of the project met with a lot of ridicule and skepticism. However, it looks like they are having the last laugh now with a neat profit of £1bn tucked into their pockets. As they say fortune favors the bold. It wouldn’t have hurt to have offered at least partially-furnished apartments and penthouses, but there don’t seem to be too many complaints from any quarter, so why go on about it all? For now, let’s just dream about what it means to have so much money in the bank vault.
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