Villa Les Cèdres, an 18,000 square-foot estate in the South of France that comes with a 14-bedroom mansion and 35 acres of land, was built 187 years ago.
It was once owned by Belgian King Leopold II, who bought the glorious patch – along the coast of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat – in 1904 after becoming exorbitantly wealthy from his savage exploitation of the Congo Free State.
It had previously been owned by the mayor of Villefranche-sur-Mer and was used as a farm for olive trees.
The property still has one of the most beautiful gardens in Europe, which includes manicured lawns, 15,000 plants and 20 greenhouses containing rare tropical vegetation.
The palatial home even features a ballroom, an Olympic-size swimming pool and stables for up to 30 horses.
Close neighbours include British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
It is now owned by Italian distiller Davide Campari-Milano SpA, which owns Campari and Grand Marnier liqueurs.
It has previously been spoken of as being worth £900million, but Fabio Di Fede – the managing director of Société des Produits Marnier Lapostolle – told Bloomberg that price tag is ‘absurd rumour and folly’.
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