40 | SUPER HOMES WORDS | John Howell


FEATURE


www.opp.org.uk | JULY & AUGUST 2012


The life of luxury


Despite the troubles in many economies, the exceedingly rich still have cash to burn. What better to spend it on than an incredible house? OPP takes a look at some ‘super homes’ at both ends of the luxury property price spectrum – from the ‘crown jewel’ Versace mansion to a more modest (but still very decadent) apartment


W


hatever the economic climate, the rich remain rich. In fact, not only do they


remain rich but, in diffi cult times, they tend to get richer!


There are, of course, more and more rich people. In the world there are about 10 million millionaires. In China, it’s estimated that there are close to 1 million millionaires and 600 billionaires. They were not there a decade ago. In India there were 175,000 new millionaires last year. Add that to the football players, pop stars, oil tycoons, drug dealers and super-successful businessmen and there are a lot of people with a lot of money to spend – and, especially if they are newly rich, they like spending their money. No wonder, then, that sales of expensive cars, jewellery and luxury houses seem to be recession-proof and no wonder that a few canny agents have chosen to specialise in this market. So what is available? Who is buying and how do you sell to them? Does super property need to be super- expensive or can you tap in to the same trait of human nature that wants something special but sell something


affordable by mere mortals? I took my Ferrari, a couple of magnums of champagne and my trophy wife on a quick trip around the world to see what was going on.


First stop, of course, was the US. They do rich so well. In fact, being America, there are multiple agencies and websites devoted to servicing the needs of the super-rich and those who want to gawk at them. Step forward www.toptenrealestatedeals.com. They specialise in promoting houses owned by celebrities or that are super- expensive: often the same thing. Recently, the owners of Gianni


Versace’s mansion in South Beach, Miami kindly put it on sale. Now this is a serious piece of property, in truth more of a palace than a mansion. Casa Casuarina, to give it its offi cial title but better known as the Versace Mansion, is priced at $125 million. Yes, that’s right. $125 million. The big price tag ties it with the Fleur de Lys Mansion in Los Angeles as the most expenssive home listing in the United States. In fairness, Casa Casuarina is one of the largest mansions in Florida with 19,000 square feet (1765 square meters), 10 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. It is truly


spectacular, as you would expect from something designed by Versace. But $125 million? The Versace Mansion definitely


has location. It is in the middle of Miami Beach’s South Beach neighbourhood across the street from the Atlantic Ocean. It is just a few steps from the area’s hottest bars and popular restaurants.


“Does super property need to be super expensive or can it be something special but affordable?”


The mansion was built in 1930 by Alden Freeman, who was an architect and philanthropist with connections to the Standard Oil fortune. He modelled the home after the Alcazar de Colon mansion in the Dominican Republic. Alcazar de Colon was the home of the son of Christopher Columbus and the oldest existing house in the Western Hemisphere. After Freeman died in 1937 the home was purchased by Jacques Amsterdam, who called it The Amsterdam Palace.


From 1937 until 1992 when Gianni


Versace purchased the property, the home was something of a crash pad for various hipsters and intellectuals, and the estate’s upkeep was spotty. Versace bought The Amsterdam Palace and an adjacent plot in 1992 for almost $10 million, and then spent millions to restore the home to its former glory. He added a 6,100 square foot south wing, a mosaic-covered courtyard, frescoes on the home’s walls and ceilings and a gold-lined swimming pool with over a million hand-laid mosaic tiles. Versace invested about $33 million in the place and renamed it Casa Casuarina. Versace died in 1997 when serial killer Andrew Cunanan shot him twice in the head on the estate’s front steps. After Versace’s death, Casa Casuarina was purchased by telecommunications millionaire Peter Loftin at a bargain price of $19 million for the property and most of the home’s art. If the property sells for anything like $125 million, that looks like the most spectacular of bargains. Loftin later leased the home to Barton G Weiss and his Barton G Group who operate it as a very


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