If there’s one thing the ultra-wealthy have consistently done throughout history and into the current day, it’s build some insanely large houses. We’re not talking about your town’s most expansive McMansion or even the White House—we’re talking about palaces and estates you can’t even conceptualize, let alone imagine actually living in. The biggest houses in the world aren’t just big, they’re gigantic, and while some of them are open to the public today, others are still fully private residences.

For example, the Palace of Versailles (number seven on the list), which once housed King Louis XIV, is now a museum, giving you a glimpse into the lavish life of royalty that once was. The Biltmore Estate (coming in at number five) is the largest home in the United States, and though it’s still family-operated by the Vanderbilts, it is no longer a private residence. However, the largest house on this list, which you’ll have to scroll down to see, is semi-private as part of the estate is open for visitors, but the family still lives inside.

Read on to learn about the design history of the biggest houses in the world (in ascending order, naturally), and find out just how grand they really are.

Witanhurst

Location: London, England

Built: 1913 to 1920

Architect: George Hubbard

Square footage: 90,000 square feet

The Georgian Revival–style Witanhurst mansion in Highgate is London’s largest residential home, with 25 bedrooms, a 70-foot-long swimming pool, two basements, a sauna, a gym, and many more amenities. It sold for 50 million pounds in late 2008, a transaction that inspired much speculation about its new owners. The late Queen Elizabeth is said to have attended parties here in the 1950s.

The One

Location: Los Angeles

Built: 2014 to 2021

Architect: Paul McClean

Square footage: 105,000 square feet

Floating above the city, this Bel-Air mansion—which took its original owner, movie producer slash real-estate developer Nile Niami, 10 years to build—gives panoramic views of the skyline and glistening Pacific Ocean. It’s reminiscent of the kind of home Tony Stark from The Avengers would live in, equipped with every amenity imaginable: its own nightclub, a full-service salon and spa, a sky deck, an outdoor running track, and a 40-seat theater, to name a few. It sold for $126 million in 2022 to the founder and CEO of the fast-fashion company Fashion Nova, Richard Saghian.

Oheka Castle

Location: Huntington, New York

Built: 1914 to 1919

Architect: William Adams Delano

Square footage: 109,000 square feet

The second-largest private residence in the United States, this French-style chateau in upstate New York is now a hotel and event space decorated with beautiful plaster moldings, ornate chandeliers, and luxurious furnishings. It was constructed more than a century ago for the financier and philanthropist Otto Hermann Kahn. After he died in 1934, it served as a military school for 50 years before being restored to its former glory. Many notable TV and movie productions have filmed here, including Succession.

Safra Mansion

Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Built: 1990s

Architect: Unknown

Square footage: 117,000 square feet

The South American private residence of the Safra family, a fairly private bunch who made their billions in the banking industry, has 130 rooms, indoor and outdoor pools, a tennis court, and a helipad. Little is publicly known about the interiors, but we can assume they’re ultra luxurious.

Biltmore Estate

Location: Asheville, North Carolina

Built: 1888 to 1895

Architect: Richard Morris Hunt

Square footage: 175,000 square feet

Built by railroad baron George Vanderbilt, Biltmore House is the biggest home in the United States, with 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and a two-story library. In 1930, George Vanderbilt’s daughter Cornelia opened the home to the public for tours, and in 2001, The Inn on Biltmore Estate debuted, allowing design buffs to stay on the grounds.

Want to learn more? Check out our virtual tour of this American architectural landmark.

Antilia

Location: Mumbai, India

Built: 2006 to 2011

Architect: Perkins & Will (Chicago) and Hirsch Bedner Associates (Los Angeles)

Square footage: 400,000 square feet

Only six people live in this 27-story skyscraper: Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his family. It cost $2 billion to construct, has nine high-speed elevators, and can hold 168 cars. There’s a helipad, a ballroom, multiple swimming pools, and even an “ice room” filled with man-made snow. It may be one of the world’s biggest private homes, but it’s despised by many in the Indian capital, particularly because it looms over an overcrowded slum.

Palace of Versailles

Location: Versailles, France

Built: 1631 to 1634

Architects: Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart

Square footage: 721,206 square feet

What was originally a small hunting lodge for King Louis XIV of France became his grand palace in the town of Versailles, France. Architect Louis Le Vau was the first architect to carry out major projects on the palace, such as the King’s and Queen’s State Apartments. Though you’re likely more familiar with his predecessor’s, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, work on the palace, which included the Hall of Mirrors, the North and South wings, and the orangery. The Palace of Versailles contains 2,300 rooms, and the entire estate covers 800 hectares or just under 2,000 acres.

Buckingham Palace

Location: London, England

Built: Begun in 1705, with significant modifications and additions in the mid-1800s and late 1800s to early 1900s

Architects: William Winde, John Nash, Edward Blore, Aston Webb

Square footage: 828,820 square feet

Since 1837, when George III bought it for his wife, Queen Charlotte (yes, just like in Bridgerton!), this enormous estate has been one of the British royal family’s official residences, the King’s official London residence, and the headquarters for many official events and administrative offices. There are 775 rooms in total in the palace, and more than 50,000 people visit the property every year. The palace’s interiors are filled with ornate decorations, priceless works of art (including Vermeers, Rembrandts, and more), and so much history. The state rooms are open to visitors each summer.

Umaid Bhawan Palace

Location: Jodhpur, India

Built: 1928 to 1943

Architect: Henry Lanchester

Square footage: 1 million square feet

This residential palace slash luxury hotel in Rajasthan is built entirely of golden-hued sandstone. The bills on the estate simply became too much for the original owner, Maharaja Umaid Singh, who built it in part to provide much-needed jobs in the region. Luckily, his grandson struck a deal with the Taj Palace hotel group to allow the Jodhpur royal family to continue living in part of the palace and turn another part into a hotel. The luxury lodgings are outfitted with original Art Deco furniture, murals, intricate wall and ceiling carvings, and gorgeously decorated rooms. There’s also a museum on site that you can visit.

Quirinal Palace

Location: Rome, Italy

Built: Mid-to-late 1500s to mid-1700s

Architect: Many, including Ottaviano Mascarino, Flaminio Ponzio, Carlo Maderno, Alessandro Specchi, Ferdinando Fuga, Raffaele Stern

Square footage: 1.2 million square feet

Home to the President of the Republic of Italy and built over several centuries, this Renaissance and Baroque palace is full of history, art, and culture that you can take in when you visit Rome and the surrounding area. Although it has evolved through many additions and changes to become what we see today, the interior and exterior have essentially remained untouched since 1946.

Apostolic Palace

Location: Vatican City

Built: Began in the late 1400s

Architect: Many

Square footage: 1,743,753 square feet

Also known as the Papal Palace or Vatican Palace, this official residence of the reigning pope is also home to the famous Sistene Chapel with its frescoes by Michelangelo. Similar to Buckingham Palace or the White House, it also houses several administrative offices as well as the Vatican Library, other papal apartments, and public and private chapels. You can visit the palace, chapel, and several museums and gardens.

Istana Nurul Iman

Location: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

Built: Early 1980s

Architect: Leandro Locsin

Square footage: 2,152,782 square feet

The tiny island nation of Brunei, set between Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, is where you’ll find the third biggest house in the world. The home belongs to the Sultan of Brunei, and its name translates as “Palace of the Light of Faith.” It apparently has 1,788 bedrooms, five swimming pools, and an air-conditioned stable that can hold as many as 200 horses.

Ak Saray

Location: Ankara, Turkey

Built: 2011 to 2014

Architect: Unknown

Square footage: 3.1 million square feet

Nicknamed the White Palace, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s home is four times the size of Versailles. The residence is said to be a mishmash of architectural styles, borrowing some elements from other Ottoman palaces. It has more than 1,000 rooms decorated in marble, green granite, and silk wallpapers and is said to have cost at least $615 million to build.

Lakshmi Vilas Palace

Location: Vadodara, India

Built: 1890

Architect: Major Charles Mant

Square footage: Roughly 30,492,000 square feet

This residential palace is a gorgeous example of Indo-Saracenic architecture, which incorporates Mughal and Hindu motifs. Still home to the Vadodara’s royal family, it’s lavishly decorated with beautiful mosaics and art pieces. The estate is four times larger than that of Buckingham Palace and sits on park-like grounds with a golf course, museum, cricket stadium, and indoor tennis and badminton courts.