Think about your dream house: what does it look like? Is it big? A sprawling mansion, perhaps? Plenty of room for activities, from things you love to do to those you've already wanted to try?
Chances are, whatever your dream house is, this real house might have it beat. And it's priced appropriately: it's currently the most expensive home in the United States, listed for a whopping $195 million.
The 16-acre estate, named Gemini, consists of 33 rooms and is the property of the billionaire family of William B Ziff, Jr., who passed away in 2006. He's the mastermind behind a handful of tech magazines, including PC Magazine and Car and Driver. The family sold the publishing arm of his company Ziff-Davis for $1.4 billion in 1994.
So what all can you find in this insanely expensive house? Let's take a look at some of the highlights.
Originally built in the 1940s, the property has had plenty of high-class owners, including Gloria Guiness, heiress to the Guiness Brewery. The Ziffs have owned the compound since 1985, and gave it a facelift in 2002 with a complete renovation. It's fully functional as a standalone property – if, for whatever reason, it couldn't connect to the mainland, it has generators and propane supplies ready to go.
Gemini takes up an entire island on Manalapan, just south of Palm Beach, FL. In addition to being lush and green throughout the property, there's private water access on both the river and oceanfront sides.
Of course, all the greenery means it's the perfect locale for a golf course, and a PGA-standard practice area ensures whoever ends up purchasing this home will have plenty of time to work on their game. There's a sports complex where you can play hoops, tennis, mini golf, or just have fun on a playground. You can also enjoy a freshwater pond and a butterfly garden, and if you want to get out of the heat, a fully furnished underground tunnel provides a path to different areas of the compound.
The interior of Gemini features a 12-bedroom main home, plus a seven-bedroom guest home, two ocean cottages, a manager's house, and a tree house. Put it all together and it's just under 85,000 square feet of total interior. That's a ton of room! The main house alone takes up 62,000 square feet, sporting "museum-quality" climate control, a top-notch security system, a cell phone signal booster, and a pair of elevators for going between levels.
While the Ziff family is hoping to sell for the full $195 million, they should probably keep their expectations slightly tempered. The previous most expensive home in America was the $200 million Playboy Mansion, and it only sold for about half of that, at $105 million.
The property might seem secluded, yet it's just a 20-minute drive to Palm Beach. But with all of the above, is there ever really a reason to leave?
