Global Home Sale Record Quietly Broken in Monaco

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A few weeks ago, an anonymous buyer appeared to set a world record for most expensive home purchase. Turns out, it may not have even been within $200 million of an earlier deal kept under lock and key.

Billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, the richest man in Ukraine, bought a five-floor luxury apartment at the Le Renzo building in Monaco’s Mareterra district for $554 million, Bloomberg reported. The deal closed in 2024, the same year the development was inaugurated by Prince Albert II.

The 21-room property on the waterfront spans 27,000 square feet, excluding the balconies and terraces overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Amenities include a private swimming pool and a jacuzzi.

The 17-story building features anywhere from 47 to 56 units, sporting price points largely reserved for the globe’s most wealthy. The broader district — built on land reclaimed from the sea — features 114 luxury villas, townhouses and apartments set beside gardens, a harbor and a public promenade.

The sale breaks down to an eye-popping $20,519 per square foot. Details surrounding the transaction were exposed by nonprofit Distributed Denial of Secrets.

In 2011, Akhmetov paid $216 million for a penthouse and apartment in the One Hyde Park complex in London, which stood for several years as the most expensive sale in the city’s history.

Ironically, One Hyde Park was developed by the Candy brothers, one of whom recently sold the Providence House in London’s exclusive Chelsea neighborhood for more than £270 million, or $350 million USD. At the time, that appeared to be the global record.

The deal was executed by Akhmetov’s holding company; Akhmetov built his fortune as the founder of international investment group System Capital Management. SCM invested in Le Renzo in 2021 and reached an agreement to buy the luxury unit prior to Russia’s invasion in 2022, which has rattled the business (though Akhmetov is still worth more than $7 billion).

He’s also the owner and president of soccer club FC Shakhtar Donetsk. In 2019, he purchased the historic Villa Les Cèdres on the French Riviera for €200 million.

— Holden Walter-Warner