$1 Billion Home in India Empty Because of Superstition
India’s richest man is enjoying his 27-story Mumbai home, from afar. The world’s most expensive home, which cost $1 billion to build, is reportedly empty because the owner believes it would be bad luck to move in, according to the Daily Mail.
The building towers above the city and boasts three helicopter landing pads, floating gardens, six car parks, a theater and a grand ballroom.
The building’s purported problem is that it lacks the correct vastu shastra, a Hindu equivalent of feng shui, according to the Daily Mail. The architectural doctrine emphasizes the importance of facing the sunrise and the home reportedly does not have enough windows on the east side, which could cause bad luck.
Its owner, Mukesh Ambani, 53, was ranked by Forbes as the ninth richest man in the world. His fortune is valued at $27 billion. Forbes called his petrochemical company, Reliance Industries, “India’s most valuable company.”
The home is called Antilla and was completed last year amid controversy because it was criticized as an ostentatious show of wealth in a largely poverty-stricken country.
The family are reportedly living with their extended family in a more modest 14-story home elsewhere in the city.
A spokesman for Ambani’s company would not comment on Ambani’s reluctance to move his family into the home, according to the Daily Mail.