Monaco Apartment Breaks World Record For Most Expensive Property Sale

Whatever you think of the exponentially increasing costs of London property, the Monaco housing market is on an entirely different level. And now the small European country has officially nabbed its spot on the pedestal as home to the world’s priciest properties. While you might expect the record for the world’s most expensive property sale to go to a palace, castle or sprawling beachside estate, it’s actually an apartment which has secured the jewel-encrusted crown – recently purchased at an eye-watering £408 million (€471 million). 

Of course, this isn’t an apartment as us mere mortals know them. With 21 rooms arranged across 27,000 sqft (that’s around 60 percent of an acre) the ‘apartment’ in question is closer in size to a luxury-level mansion, or 10–12 average-sized family homes stacked together. 

The owner? Rinat Akhmetov – the richest man in Ukraine. With an estimated net worth of £5.8 billion, the 59-year-old businessman founded Ukraine’s largest industrial conglomerate, System Capital Management, in 2000, and has been the owner and president of Ukrainian football club Shakhtar since 1996. Akhmetov already owns a massive £173m mansion just down the road in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on the French Riviera.

Even for the exclusive Mareterra district (also known as Le Portier) in the Quartier of Larvotto, where properties costs a dizzying £5,700 per square foot on average, this £408m home is way above the expected £150m asking price. The five-storey complex, which is located in the Le Renzo building, boasts a private swimming pool, jacuzzi and at least eight parking spaces, as well as a series of balconies and terraces that enjoy breathtaking views across the Mediterranean. 

The Most Expensive Property Sales Of All Time

£270m Chelsea House, UK

British businessman and Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy banked £270m from the sale of his Chelsea home earlier this year. The Grade II-listed property is located in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, on a two-acre site that once accommodated the residence of Britain’s first Prime Minister Robert Walpole. Candy sold the property to tech mogul Suneil Setiya in April 2026. 

£245m Estate, Hong Kong 

In 2017, billionaire and property tycoon Pan Sutong purchased a 13,854 sqft mansion in Deep Water Bay – home to some of Hong Kong’s wealthiest residents. Though once the fourth richest man in China, in recent years Pan’s property business has faltered, forcing him to take out three mortgages against the mansion in his fight against bankruptcy.

£230m Château, France

Though the extravagant Château Louis XIV may sound and look like a 17th-century estate, this property was actually built in the 2000s. Purchased by crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman in 2015, the property – which sits close to Versailles Palace – boasts 57 acres of landscaped park, an actual moat, and an iPhone-controlled water fountain.

£210m Hyde Park Home, UK 

London’s second-most expensive property sale, this 45-room (20 bedroom) mansion was purchased in 2020 by Chinese billionaire and Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan. By the time his identity had been revealed, his company Evergrande was at the center of China’s property crisis; Hui was detained by Chinese authorities in 2023 and has not been seen since. The property was put back on the market but has so far struggled to find someone willing to cough up the extravagant asking price. It has, however, attracted a local eccentric who squats out-front. A former journalist and Swedish national, Anders Fernstedt hangs out on the steps amongst broken tents, parasols, teddybears, jigsaws and flowers. 

£200m Mansion, Hong Kong 

Another fallen Chinese tycoon, property mogul Hogtian Chen bought this 9,212 sqft mansion in 2016. However, the property has since been seized by lenders, along with several other of Chen’s properties, after his global real estate company, Cheung Kei Group, ran into trouble.