Antilia (building)
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Antilia is the residence of the Indian billionaire businessman
Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani (born 19 April 1957) is an Indian billionaire and businessman who is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries. As of May 2025, he is the richest person in Asia and The World's Billionaires, 13th richest ...
and his family. It is located on
Billionaires' Row Billionaires' Row is a group of ultra-luxury residential skyscrapers, and the neighborhood surrounding them, near the southern end of Central Park in the Midtown Manhattan, Midtown section of Manhattan in New York City. Several of these buildin ...
in
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
. Built from 2006 to 2010 at a cost of nearly US$2 billion, it was valued at US$4.6 billion in 2023. It is the most expensive residence in India and one of the most expensive and largest private homes in the world. It is designed to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake. The top six floors are private residential areas. The structure's design incorporates the lotus plant and the sun. The structure is 27 storeys, tall, over , and with amenities including a 168- car garage,
ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...
, nine high-speed lifts, a 50-seat theatre,
terrace garden A terrace garden is a garden with a raised flat paved or gravelled section overlooking a prospect. A raised terrace keeps a house dry and provides a transition between the hardscape and the softscape. History Persia Since a level site is ...
s,
swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...
,
spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...
, health centre, temple, and a "snow room", which produces snowflakes from its walls.


Timeline of value

It was constructed between 2008 and 2010. In 2007, due to a sustained real-estate bubble in Mumbai, Ambani's unbuilt house and the 4,532-square-metre plot on which it was being erected were already estimated to be worth more than US$1.2 billion. In 2014 it was considered the world's most expensive private residence, costing between US$1 and 2 billion to build. As of 2023 it was valued at $4.6 billion, as average
annual growth rate Annual growth rate (AGR) is the change in the value of a measurement over the period of a year. Economics Annual growth rate is a useful tool to identify trends in investments. According to a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers condu ...
of prices on homes in Mumbai from 2010 to 2020 was 11.2 per cent. Prices in Mumbai increased by 100 per cent in 2006 and 19 per cent in 2012.


Plot

The land on which Antilia was built housed an orphanage called Currimbhoy Ebrahim Khoja Yateemkhana (Kareembhai Ibrahim Khwaja Orphanage) belonging to a charity run by the Waqf Board. The orphanage had been founded in 1895 by Currimbhoy Ebrahim, a wealthy shipowner. In 2002 the trust requested permission to sell this land, and the charity commissioner gave the required permission three months later. The charity sold the land allocated for the purpose of education of underprivileged Khoja children to Antilia Commercial Private Limited, a commercial entity controlled by Mukesh Ambani, in July 2002 for . The prevailing market value of the land at the time was at least . The sale was in direct contravention of § 51 of the Wakf Act which requires that any such sale of land should be done after the permission of the Maharashtra State Board of Waqfs. The
Waqf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an Alienation (property law), inalienable charitable financial endowment, endowment under Sharia, Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot ...
minister Nawab Malik opposed this land sale, as did the revenue department of the
Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the executive branch of the Indian states of india, state of Maharashtra. The government is led by the List of chief ministers of Maharashtra, chief minister (currently Devendra Fadnavis since 5 December 2024) ...
. Thus a stay order was issued on the sale of the land. The Waqf board also initially opposed the deal and filed a PIL in the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
challenging the decision of the trust. The Supreme Court, while dismissing the petition, asked the Waqf board to approach the
Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the High courts of India, high court of the States and union territories of India, states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily ...
. However, the stay on the deal was subsequently vacated after the Waqf board withdrew its objection. In June 2011, the Union government asked the Maharashtra government to consider referring the matter to the
Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the domestic crime investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and gover ...
. A PIL was filed a decade later by Abdul Matin, against the orphanage and the Charity commissioners permission. As of 2018, the case was being heard by a special bench of the court.


Design and construction

The building was named after the mythical Spanish
phantom island A phantom island is a purported island which was included on maps for a period of time, but was later found not to exist. They usually originate from the reports of early sailors exploring new regions, and are commonly the result of navigati ...
of
Antillia Antillia (or Antilia) is a phantom island that was reputed, during the 15th-century age of exploration, to lie in the Atlantic Ocean, far to the west of Portugal and Spain. The island also went by the name of Isle of Seven Cities (''Ilha das Se ...
. The building was designed by the American architecture firms Perkins & Will, based in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, and
Hirsch Bedner Associates HBA (Hirsch Bedner Associates) is a global design and architecture firm headquartered in Singapore. It is the world’s leading hospitality design firm and has been ranked first on thInterior Design Hospitality Giants Listfor over eighteen years. ...
, based in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. They were consulted after Nita Dalal Ambani was impressed by the contemporary Asian interiors at the
Mandarin Oriental, New York Mandarin Oriental, New York is a five-star luxury hotel located in Manhattan's Deutsche Bank Center at Columbus Circle in New York City, managed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. A part of the multi-use Time Warner Center development, the h ...
, also designed by them. The building plan was approved by the
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), or the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) is the governing civic body of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra. Salman Khan Is Now Brand Ambassador of BMC from 2016. The BMC is India ...
in 2003, and construction started in 2006 with Leighton Asia initially taking charge, and completed by B. E. Billimoria & Company Ltd. The architects altered floor plans and design concepts as the construction of the building progressed. The home has 27 floors with extra-high ceilings. (Other buildings of equivalent height may have as many as 60 floors.) The home was also designed to survive an earthquake of
magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...
8. It is considered by some to be the tallest single-family house in the world, but others disqualify the Antilia because it includes space for a staff of 600. The interior design uses the shapes of the lotus and the sun. These two features are repeated throughout the building using crystals, marble, and
mother-of-pearl Nacre ( , ), also known as mother-of-pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer. It is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is ...
. However, no two floors use the same materials or plan, the idea of the design is of consistency, but not repetition. The building has three
helipad A helipad is the landing area of a heliport, in use by helicopters, powered lift, and vertical lift aircraft to land on surface. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fa ...
s; however, they are not operational. The helipads have to be certified air-worthy in India by the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and have yet to receive approval from the central defence and environment ministries. The house warming was done in November 2010, but Ambani did not immediately move in for fear of "bad luck". In June 2011, almost 50 renowned
pandit A pandit (; ; also spelled pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt. or Pdt.) is an individual with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge in Hinduism, particularly the Vedic scriptures, dharma, or Hindu philosophy; in colonial-e ...
s were invited to conduct pujas and address vastu issues in the building, after which the Ambanis took up residence in September 2011.


Cost and valuation

Before construction, the value of the plot and unbuilt house were estimated to be more than US$1.2 billion. During planning, the house was expected to be the world's largest and most expensive home, with a cost of about US$2 billion. In 2014 it was considered the world's most expensive private residence.


Incidents

On 10 July 2017 a fire broke out on the ninth floor, and it was extinguished within a few minutes. Six firefighters reached the building within 10 minutes of getting the call. However, the fire was extinguished by Antilia staff before the fire brigade team arrived, using a small line of fixed firefighting systems and fire extinguishers. The fire was confined to the 4G antenna and plastic framing of the vertical garden. On 25 February 2021 a car containing 20 explosive gelatin sticks and a threatening letter targeting the Ambanis was found near Antilia. The car was parked about 400 metres from the building on Carmichael Road bordering Altamount Road. A security officer at Antilia placed a call to the police control room regarding the suspicious vehicle, and the police rushed to the spot, joined by the bomb detection and disposal squad. After the sniffer dogs detected explosives, the bomb squad removed the gelatin sticks, which were found to be not assembled, and had no battery or detonator. The probe was led by Mumbai's crime intelligence unit head, Sachin Vaze. The case was handed to the National Investigative Agency, which discovered that Vaze was himself involved in this incident, and he was arrested.


Public reception

Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate group of companies headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest business conglomerate, with products and services in over 160 countries, and operations in 100 c ...
former chairman
Ratan Tata Ratan Naval Tata (28 December 1937 9 October 2024) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012 and he held the position of interim chairman from October 2016 to Feb ...
said Antilia is an example of rich Indians' lack of empathy for the poor. Tata said, "The person who lives in there should be concerned about what he sees around him and asking how he can make a difference. If he cannot, then it's sad because this country needs people to allocate some of their enormous wealth to finding ways of mitigating the hardship that people have. It makes me wonder why someone would do that. That's what revolutions are made of."


See also

*
List of tallest buildings in Mumbai Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of India, has the highest number of skyscrapers and high-rise buildings in India. As of June 2025, 250 Topping out, topped out and completed skyscrapers taller than , 70 skyscrapers taller than ...


References


Citations


External links


Most Expensive Home in the World has 27 Floors and Slum Views
– slideshow by the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''
Antilia is the world’s most expensive house for $1 billion
– ''Luxurylaunches''
It's sad Mukesh Ambani lives in such opulence: Ratan Tata
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antilia (building) Houses completed in 2010 Towers completed in 2010 Residential skyscrapers in Mumbai Buildings and structures in Mumbai Postmodern architecture in India Buildings and structures completed in 2010 Residential buildings completed in 2010 2010 establishments in Maharashtra Ambani family