A Mumbai lane where Mukesh Ambani is building a billion-dollar home has joined the league of the world's 10 most expensive streets, but is outranked by Mittal's London's Billionaires Row.
LONDON: A Mumbai lane where India's richest person Mukesh Ambani is building a billion-dollar home has joined the league of the world's 10 most expensive streets, but is outranked by over three-times costlier London's Billionaires Row where steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal owns three houses.
Altamount Road in India's financial capital Mumbai has been named as the 10th costliest in a survey of the world's top 10 most expensive streets in the world, while London's Kensington Palace Gardens has been ranked at the fourth place.
While the tree-lined street in south of Mumbai is a favourite of India's "very rich," Kensington Palace Gardens area in West London is popularly known as Billionaires Row. It has been home to Late Princess Diana and NRI-billionaire Mittal owns three houses on this street.
In the survey conducted by Wealth-Bulletin, a UK-based online news and analysis provider for global wealth management industry, Avenue Princess Grace in Monaco has been named at the top with a price tag of USD 190,000 per square metre.
It is followed by Hong Kong's Severn Road with a price of $ 121,000 per square metre (sq mt) at second and New York City's Fifth Avenue at third place (USD 80,000 per sq mt).
Kensington Palace Gardens has made to the fourth place with a price tag of USD 77,000 per sq mt, while the same for the last-ranked Mumbai's Altamount Road is USD 25,000 per sq mt.
Noting that the Mumbai lane has always been a popular choice for homes of India's very rich, Wealth-Bulletin said that the street was "catapulted into the ranks of the world's most expensive when India's wealthiest individual Mukesh Ambani unveiled plans last year to build a residential apartment block on the street at a cost of around USD 1 billion."
"The extraordinary 27-floor building, called Antilia, will be as high as a normal 60-floor skyscraper, have elevated gardens and three helicopter pads," it said, adding the prices in Antilia were likely to be at least 25,000 per sq mt or even more.
Other streets ranked costlier than Mumbai's Altamount Road in the list include Avenue Montaigne in Paris, ranked fifth at 54,000 dollars per sq mt, Moscow's Ostozhenka (sixth at 40,000 dollars per sq mt), Via Suvretta in St Moritz (seventh at 38,000 dollars per sq mt) and Carolwood Drive in Los Angeles (eighth ranked at 30,000 dollars per sq mt).
The survey revealed that the prices for the top homes in the best locations appear to have decoupled from the gloom and doom being felt in the wider property market.
"The bursting of the housing market bubble is growing louder, causing increasing concern among a widening spectrum of the population, but for the really wealthy the downturn might have little or no impact on the prices they are paying, or selling for homes," it said.
Noting one needs to be a billionaire, or not far behind, to live in these streets, Wealth-Bulletin said Moscow's Ostozhenka Street and Mumbai's Altamount Road "would not have even been considered for the list a decade ago, but their inclusion today shows just how important these cities have become for burgeoning billionaire class in India and Russia."
About London's Kensington Palace Gardens, it said the rich of the city "might be feeling the cold breeze of the credit crunch and faltering property prices, but the super rich in the capital are still paying out-of-this world prices for the most expensive houses in town."
Recently it was ranked as Britain's most expensive in another survey by property website Zoopla.
Last month, Mittal reportedly purchased a 70 million pound house for his daughter Vanisha on this street -- close after a world record 117-million-pound mansion bought for his son Aditya and the third for the family in the same area.
About four years ago, Mittal had purchased his first house on the Billionaire's Row for 57 million pounds.
The combined value of the three properties owned by Mittal family on this street is said to be valued at about 440 million pounds.
The street has been home to a number of celebrities even before Mittals came here. Late Princess Diana once lived in this street in the Central London and its current residents include Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.
Kensington Palace Gardens is a private avenue lined with trees and dotted with foreign embassies.
In a list of world's richest, Mittal was ranked fourth with a fortune of over 50 billion dollars, while Mukesh Ambani was fifth with a net worth of 43 billion dollars by the US business magazine Forbes.
About the top ranked Avenue Princess Grace in Monaco, Wealth-Bulletin said the street has been named after the iconic Hollywood star Grace Kelly, who was married to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco.
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