Empty and unloved, some of the world's priciest properties have been forsaken by their owners and left to languish, from royal residences to presidential holiday homes and sprawling manor houses. But what led to their fall from grace?

We take a look inside some of the most expensive derelict mansions in the world and uncover the mysteries behind their abandonment. Click or scroll on for more...

In the English town of Uckfield, Sussex, rests Hamilton Palace, a spectacular private mansion. Or at least it was supposed to be when building started four decades ago. Despite work beginning in 1985, scaffolding remains in place – a stark reminder of the home's disastrous construction journey.

With two huge wings, a golden dome and a lakeside mausoleum, the palace is larger than Buckingham Palace. It was commissioned by disgraced businessman, Nicholas van Hoogstraten, who is said to have made his fortune in property, mines, art and money-lending.

Van Hoogstraten became Britain’s youngest millionaire at the age of 22 in the swinging sixties and his net worth has been placed as high as £800 million ($1019m), according to Sussex Live. 

Costing around £40 million ($50.9m) to build, a pricey £118 million ($150m) in today's money, Hamilton Palace was once one of the most expensive (and largest) private houses in Britain for a century, even though no one has ever lived there.

According to the palace's architect Anthony Browne, van Hoogstraten has a reputation for being a difficult character. In fact, in one documentary, he was quoted as saying that he was prepared to do "whatever is necessary" to get what he wanted.

Unsurprisingly then, the construction of the palace caused plenty of disputes with neighbours, after van Hoogstraten decided to remove a public footpath that runs through the estate. Yet there are perhaps more sinister reasons why the house has remained half-finished, with construction materials strewn across its oversized rooms...

In a shocking turn of events, in 2002 Mr Hoogstraten was sentenced to 10 years in jail for the manslaughter of his business rival Mohammed Raja.

The conviction was later quashed on appeal, but van Hoogstraten was later ordered to pay Raja’s family £6 million ($7.7m) in damages, of which van Hoogstraten said they “would not see a penny”, according to reports. Shortly after this, the construction of Hamilton Palace was put on hold. 

Since then, the dilapidated building, encased in scaffolding and standing in sharp contrast to the green and pleasant surrounding countryside, has remained pretty much unchanged.

Van Hoogstraten claims his empire has since been broken up and is now in the hands of his five children, as is his multi-million vanity project, which is known by locals as 'the ghost house of Sussex'.

In the city of Żebbuġ, Malta, you'll find a hauntingly beautiful building that has seen better days. The historic palazzo has been left untouched for years, but luckily it's still structurally sound, according to Sotheby's International Real Estate, who last listed the property for €4.5 million (£3.8m/$4.9m). 

Occupying a 0.74-acre plot, the house boasts a stunning walled garden with landscaped flower beds, 300 orange trees, a majestic pine tree and nine wells.

As well as sprawling grounds, the pad offers 5,000 square feet of living space that showcases the building's amazing history. There's even a private chapel, the Chapel of Our Lady of Forsaken Souls, which enjoys Grade l protection. 

Dating back to the 18th century, the property was designed as a hunting lodge under the order of Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc, a member of the wealthy and influential Rohan family of France, and 70th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of St John. 

The property has five entrances, including its impressive two-leaf wooden main entrance door. As soon as you enter the property you can see the amount of money that Emmanuel poured into the place.

The palazzo's lavish interior is still apparent, despite its rundown state, so it isn't hard to picture just how dramatic and grand this entrance hall would've been in its prime. From its intricately carved columns to its beautiful, tiled floor, there's much to love about this abandoned mansion. 

In total, there are 15 palatial rooms inside the home. The main residence of the family, including six bedrooms, was in the high-ceilinged halls of the piano nobile (Italian for noble floor or noble level) on the first floor, traditionally the principal floor of a palazzo. 

Many of the interior spaces boast vaulted ceilings, ornate fireplaces and arches, while others open up to an interior courtyard that's flooded with natural light.

There's a banquet hall featuring four 15-foot-high statues representing the four seasons, as well as original stone stairways, an antique living room and a beautiful cellar. Unique to the palazzo is a private theatre on the ground floor, which still retains many of its spectacular trompe-l'oeil murals (meaning optical illusion) and decorative detail.

Plans to turn the property, also known as Villa Buleben, into a 50-room hotel were suspended in May 2022, according to reports, due to local opposition, so it's now back on the market and ready to be brought back to life. However, in most recent news, Żebbuġ's mayor said the council is calling on the government to purchase the entire property, including the chapel, to restore it and turn it into a green space. 

Nestled in 50 acres of dense woodland in New York’s Westchester County, this sprawling stone mansion was designed and erected in the late 1920s by David Thomas Abercombie – co-founder of the clothing company Abercrombie and Fitch, and his wife, Lucy Abbot Cate. The couple named the estate ‘Elda Castle’, a title comprised of the first letters of the names of their four children in the order of their birth.

The home was intended to serve as a country retreat for the wealthy family, a place where they could escape the hustle and bustle of city life for the quiet courtyards, sweeping lawns and leafy surroundings of the sprawling estate. The family dream was short-lived, however, as David Thomas Abercrombie sadly passed away in 1931, just a few years after the castle was completed.

In its heyday, the castle was comprised of 25 rooms across 4,337 square feet, offering more than enough space for the family and any friends or relatives they might wish to invite.

However, unable to keep up with the expenses after the death of their patriarch, the Abercrombies ultimately abandoned the property, and while several subsequent owners have tried to bring the derelict mansion back from the brink, none have managed it. There is now an element of lore surrounding the crumbling, seemingly unsalvageable castle.

Today, Elda Castle is slowly being reclaimed by its woodsy surroundings, falling further and further out of the realm of rehabilitation. However, while its window panes and fine furnishings are long gone, some elements of the original building remain, including the distinctive cast iron spiral staircase leading to the tower, arched doorways, bespoke leaded windows and an outdoor fireplace.

Perhaps it is these charming, characterful details that have made a succession of buyers so keen to salvage the property.

The estate has been on and off the market since 2007 and was most recently listed in March 2023 for £2.3 million ($2.9m) – a hefty fee given that the listing clearly states that the castle needs a complete overhaul, as it is currently uninhabitable. It just remains to be seen if a buyer will be brave enough to give the castle the fairytale ending it deserves.

Completed in the mid-18th century, this spectacular townhouse can be found in the heart of one of London's most prestigious neighbourhoods, Mayfair.

Close to Hyde Park Corner, the Grade II listed building would once have been the home of a very wealthy and socially important family, but somewhere along the lines the lavish residence was left to languish.

While the building’s prominent and refined façade boasts plenty of kerb appeal, the interior is seemingly endless and overflowing with elegant period details. Arranged over six floors, there are 14,000 square feet of accommodation. As soon as you step through the front door, you're greeted by drama – just look at this stunning marble staircase.

While we don't know the full history of the property, we do know that at some point it was converted from a mansion into an office building. Sadly, when it was vacated by the company – or companies –occupying it, the structure was stripped and left to deteriorate. Holes and signs of damage can be seen in the floors, walls and ceilings, revealing that the building needs major restoration works.

Yet despite its rundown state, every room still showcases preserved original features, such as beautiful crown mouldings, sash windows, fireplaces and light fixtures. One of the most impressive features of the historic townhouse is its statement roof light, which decorates the very top floor, flooding the stairwell and hallway with light. Plus, many of the upper-floor windows allow for far-reaching views over Green Park. 

Last listed for sale via Knight Frank for a whopping £30 million ($38m), the impressive property already has planning permission in place to be converted into a luxurious 10-bedroom home, complete with a basement swimming pool and wellness zone, a library, a chauffeur’s office and a movie theatre. 

The Bishops Avenue, also known as Billionaires' Row, is one of London's most affluent and controversial streets. The prominent road can be found in Hampstead and around a third of the mansions along it have been left abandoned, with many of them having fallen into ruin.

Owned mostly by foreign investors who leave their homes uninhabited, these luxe properties are now in a sad state of repair.

Many of the 66 homes on Billionaires' Row were built in the late 1970s, with around twenty of them now standing entirely derelict, despite being some of the most valuable homes in Britain.

In fact, in 2008, Toprak Mansion on The Bishops Avenue claimed a new record as the most expensive home ever sold in the UK at the time. The estate changed hands for £50 million ($64m).

Captured here by explorers Beyond the Point, this empty hallway is falling apart, with a caved-in ceiling that has let in the elements. However, it's easy to see reminders of the home's former grandeur still in place, such as the gold bannister and stained-glass windows within this cavernous hallway.

In 2022, students also explored one of the properties known locally as 'The Towers', sharing their findings on TikTok.

As unbelievable as it may seem, some of the homes have been left untouched for over 30 years. This conservatory looks like the owners have just upped and left, with an ashtray still perched on the rattan table and faded magazines stacked high.

The Bishops Avenue has been dubbed "one of the most expensive wastelands in the world" by developer Anil Varma, who owns a property on this notorious street.

Residents past and present include the super-rich Sultan of Brunei and Justin Bieber, who reportedly rented one of the street's more luxurious homes in 2016 for a whopping £108,000 ($137k) a month.

What was once the ultimate place to live in London has become an entire street of wasteful ruins and decaying buildings, that are said to be collectively worth £350 million ($445m).

Built in the 1890s, this empty stately mansion in Augusta, Georgia, comes with a pretty amazing history. Offering eight bedrooms and six bathrooms, the sprawling home may have faded somewhat since its illustrious heyday when it was at the heart of high-society life, but its prestige is still evident.

The abandoned American home is said to have regularly hosted the 27th President of the United States, William Howard Taft, in the early 20th century. And even though its floors are now dusty and its woodwork is greying, it's not hard to imagine the mansion's former grandeur.

This reception space is nothing short of spectacular, from the Art Nouveau-style glass light fixtures to the magnificent leaded windows and detailed panelling.

At the heart of the Queen Anne-style house, this grand carved staircase takes centre stage, talk about making an entrance! Commissioned in the late 19th century by businessman Landon Addison Thomas Jr, the property had been in the same family for over a century, before it was sold in April 2022 for around £1.1 million ($1.4m).

Original hardwood floors extend throughout the interior, and some, like this beautiful parquet flooring, look to remain in extremely good condition. With a treasure trove of stunning period features, it wouldn't take a lot to make the Harris Clay House a beautiful, bustling family home once more.

In addition to the striking living spaces, the home is surrounded by over three acres of land. While somewhat overgrown and time-worn, signs of the once-manicured landscaping are still visible and aren't beyond the point of rescue. 

Peeking out from behind the overgrowth, the decades certainly haven't diminished the architectural charm of the Harris Clay mansion. If this grand estate achieved a million-dollar price tag in its current neglected state, who knows how much this empty beauty could be worth once restored?

This imposing Italian Renaissance Revival mansion in Virginia was built in 1912 for business leader and philanthropist, Major James H Dooley, for £1.6 million ($2m), a hefty £51 million ($65m) in today's money. No expense was spared on the ultra-luxurious property, which took 300 artisans eight years to finish.

A romantic escape for Major Dooley and his beloved wife Sarah, Swannanoa was kitted out with furnishings worthy of a billionaire, including exquisite Carrara marble flooring and wall panels, along with gold plumbing fixtures. The home's wow-factor feature is a stunning 4,000-piece Tiffany stained-glass window featuring a depiction of Mrs Dooley.

The envy of the neighbourhood, the mansion featured all the latest mod cons. As well as being the first property in the area to have electricity installed, Swannanoa had a cutting-edge elevator and dumb waiter, and upon entering the property, guests were wowed by the panelled entrance hall and splendid marble staircase.

The Dooleys summered at the property until Major Dooley died in 1924. Mrs Dooley died in 1926 and Swannanoa passed to her late husband's two sisters, who didn't waste any time getting rid of it.

The mansion was sold for the knockdown price of £235,700 ($300k) and was converted into a country club, which opened in 1929 but closed in 1932 on account of the Great Depression. The mansion was then left empty for years. During the Second World War, the US Navy floated plans to purchase the property but was put off by the cost.

Swannanoa finally found a buyer in 1944 when local businessman A T Dulaney acquired the dilapidated house for £47,100 ($60k). He leased it to polymath Walter Russell and his sculptor wife Lao, who established a New Age university on the estate. Russell died in 1963 and his wife continued to lease the property until her death in 1988, when it was repurposed as the Russell Museum.

The Dulaney family, who still own the property, shut the museum in 1998, partly renovating the villa before renting it out for events. It's now open to visitors for special tours in the spring and summer months. 

A monument to shameless corruption, the Mezhyhirya Residence in Ukraine was the official summer house for the Soviet leadership and was passed to the Ukrainian government following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.

Viktor Yanukovych moved into the property in 2002, shortly after his election as prime minister and went on to spend millions of dollars of ill-gotten cash on it. Yanukovych was evicted from the residence following the Orange Revolution in 2005 but returned as prime minister in 2006. 

The politician had the property privatised the following year. The estate's Soviet-era buildings were demolished and work began on a five-storey stone and timber palace, designed by Finnish firm Honka, which is thought to have cost at least £8 million ($10m). 

Yanukovych, who was elected president in 2010, splurged millions of dollars of taxpayers' money on the blingy interiors, purportedly ordering scores of gilt and crystal chandeliers at £78,600 ($100k) a pop and a staircase clad in fine marble, priced at an eye-watering £337,900 ($430k).

The no-holds-barred spending extended to the opulent bathrooms, which were fitted with the most expensive gold fixtures money could buy, as well as a bowling alley, an underground shooting range and a golf course that cost £2.4 million ($3m).

Just north of the capital Kyiv, the estate was hit by shells and bombs in the early days of Russia's war on Ukraine, according to reports, and has since been used as a military facility, as well as a shelter for residents when under fire.

The pro-Russian president also built a private zoo on the site during his time in office, importing kangaroos and ostriches and other exotic animals, even going so far as to construct a new highway linking Mezhyhirya with Kyiv. Despite the ongoing conflict, it was announced in June 2022 that the estate will officially become a state park and protected area.

Back in the day, Yanukovych had a garage complex built to house his vast collection of classic cars. Karma eventually caught up with the president, who was ousted by the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014 and fled the country. Wanted for high treason, Yanukovych is thought to be currently hiding out in Russia. His abandoned palace, a testament to the man's extravagance, became a tourist attraction after his exile.

Staying with corrupt leaders, Mobutu Sese Seko, the former president of Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, was just as free and easy with other people's money, lavishing reportedly more than £78.6 million ($100m) on his 'Versailles of the Jungle', a luxe palace complex that was built in his hometown of Gbadolite during the 1970s. The complex boasted three sumptuous residences, including the glitzy Bamboo Palace.

Mobutu packed the interiors with paintings by Monet and Renoir, ornate Louis XVI furnishings, Carrara marble and copious gilding. Ridiculously expensive Murano chandeliers hung in almost every room. The palace in Gbadolite had a staff of 700 to cater to the president and his family's whims, which were legendary.

Mobutu even had an international airport built nearby just so he could charter Concorde and fly to Paris together with his aptly named first wife Marie-Antionette for full-on designer shopping sprees.

There was a red-walled nightclub in the complex, which had a bar stocked with the best vintage champagnes, fine wines and spirits. The Gbadolite complex also had several huge swimming pools, a five-star hotel for visiting dignitaries and a number of plush guesthouses to boot.

Clearing out the state's coffers, the president even splashed out on a mini replica of Beijing's Forbidden Palace. The so-called Peking Palace was completed in the early 1970s. It was used by Mobutu and his family as a retreat and doubled up as a pavilion for welcoming foreign dignities and other VIPs.

Mobutu was deposed in May 1997, having embezzled a reported £3.9 billion ($5bn). The ex-president fled to Morocco, where he died later that year. Gbadolite was looted and all its valuables were removed or destroyed. The jungle has since reclaimed the complex, which lies ruined and abandoned.

Like Africa's Versailles in the Jungle, Kinmel Hall, which is nicknamed the 'Welsh Versailles', has been left to decay, though it isn't in quite as bad shape as Mobutu's former palace. The splendid château-style mansion dates from the 1870s. A 'calendar house', it had 365 rooms at its height, one for every day of the year. A room was even dedicated to ironing newspapers at one time.

The sprawling country house was built for copper tycoon Hugh Robert Hughes, who became known as HRH due to his suitably regal lifestyle. The mansion passed through several families and was last used as a private home in 1929, when it was sold to the highest bidder and converted into a boy's school.

Kinmel Hall became a spa for rheumatoid sufferers in the 1930s and a military convalescent home during the Second World War. The mansion changed hands again after the war when it reopened as the Clarendon School for Girls.

A fire in 1975 forced the school to relocate and Kinmel Hall was acquired and restored by businessman Eddie Vince, who used it as a Christian conference centre.

There were plans to transform Kinmel Hall into a luxury hotel, but the project never came to fruition. In 2011, a mystery buyer bought the mansion for a bargain £1.5 million ($1.9m), intending to develop the elusive hotel. Ambitious plans were unveiled in 2012 but work on the new hotel failed to commence.

Kinmel Hall went even more downhill. Looters descended on the abandoned property in 2013 and made off with a set of carved wooden panels gifted to Hughes by Queen Victoria, who is believed to have stayed at the house in the 1870s. 

Kinmel Hall was added to the Victorian Society's Top 10 Most Endangered Buildings list in 2015 due to its worsening state. However, in May 2021 the estate was sold to a local resident at auction for £940,000 ($1.2m), who claimed they wanted to see Kinmel Hall 'restored to its former glory'. Not much has happened in the interim as far as we can tell.

However, in January 2023 Conwy council served an enforcement on the owners to remove a set of glamping pods which were damaging the grounds. Hopefully, the historic home will receive the love and attention it needs soon. 

Destined to later become the home of Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, this storied Elizabethan mansion in Oxfordshire was built in 1580 for the Bishop of Reading, and is thought to have served as a psychiatric asylum during its long history.

Selfridges owner Sir Charles Clore acquired the 11-bedroom manor house during the 1950s and sold it on in 1972 to Alvin Lee, lead singer for the band Ten Years After, who built a recording studio in the barn.

Lee put down several albums at the studio and even used the indoor tennis court as an echo chamber. He let go of the property, which was snapped up by rock star David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, in 1980.

The band's giant inflatable pig was stored on the premises and two Pink Floyd LPs were recorded in the studio. Gilmour sold up in 1986 and the manor house and recording studio eventually passed to Frankie Goes to Hollywood producer, Trevor Horn.

Horn transformed the property into Hookend Productions, which was the UK's most luxurious recording venue from the late 1980s to the 2000s. An impressive line-up of musicians recorded singles and albums there, including Rod Stewart, the Manic Street Preachers, Seal and the Smiths.

During his stay at the manor, Morrissey claimed to have been visited by the ghost of a monk. The phantom would appear during the wee hours of the morning as if to wake people to pray.

In fact, rumour has it that David Gilmour gave up the property because his wife Ginger was so freaked out by the paranormal activity, that she refused to stay there. In 2006, a tragic accident at the property forced Horn to sell up, and the property was bought by producer Mark White in 2009 for £12 million ($15.2m).

White invested in the studio, but the house lay neglected for years. Photographer Trevor Bishenden captured the dilapidated interiors in 2020 when the manor appeared to be completely abandoned with rising damp and peeling wallpaper.

Fortunately, reports say the house is currently undergoing a renovation and is in the process of being brought back from the brink and turned into a luxury pool complex.

While it's hard to know why some abandoned homes have been left unoccupied, there isn't as much mystery when it comes to Loftus Hall. Considered to be Ireland's most haunted house, the eerie estate can be found on Hook Head, overlooking the Three Sisters estuary in County Wexford.

Dating back to the 14th century, the 23,454-square-foot residence was used as the set for the 2017 Hollywood horror movie The Lodgers, which could be enough to put some house hunters off... 

The structure was originally built by the Norman Knight, Raymond Les Gros, in around 1350 but the estate's reputation as a spine-chilling abode dates back to the mid-1700s, according to former Lord Mayor George Lawlor of Wexford. Legend has it that a dark stranger approached the hall in a storm looking for shelter and was taken in by the Tottenham family, who lived there at the time.

One night during a card game, the young Lady Anne Tottenham is said to have dropped a card on the floor and when she went to pick it up, noticed their guest had cloven hoofs instead of feet – a sign of the devil.

When he realised he was rumbled, the stranger disappeared through the roof in a ball of flames, leaving Lady Anne in a state of shock from which she never recovered. Driven to madness, she spent the rest of her life locked in the hall’s tapestry room and her ghost is said to haunt the mansion.

With its striking period fixtures, from decorative floors to ornate fireplaces, it's not difficult to imagine how this abandoned castle could be transformed, given the right attention.

From 2011, it was owned by Shane and Aidan Quigley who secured the structure of the hall from ruin and restored the gardens. Spread across three floors and boasting this stunning hand-carved staircase and tiled entrance lobby, the hall became a venue for haunted tours and spooky stays for several years, before being put on the market in 2020 with Keane Auctioneers for €2.5 million (£2.1m/$2.7m).

According to The Irish Times, the hall was bought by a group called Oakmount, who plan to turn the property into a luxury destination hotel.

The house already has 22 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms, but the new owners plan to invest around £5.6 million ($7.2m) installing a spa, cabins and an event space. Loftus Hall sits on 63 stunning acres on the Hook Peninsula, home of the Hook Lighthouse, the oldest operational lighthouse in the world.

So things are looking up for Loftus Hall and according to local press, in May 2023, it boasted a new exterior and a new name – Ladyville House. Let's just hope there isn't too much devil in the detail...

With its neo-Gothic turrets peering over the trees of its woodland setting, Château Miranda, or Château de Noisy as it is also known, was once the stuff of fairytales.

Count Liedekerke-Beaufort commissioned English architect Edward Milner to create a fanciful summer residence for his family near Celles, Belgium, close to his principal residence, Castle Vêve. Building started in 1866 and was completed in 1907 when the ornate clock tower was erected.

Once the scene of lavish parties and a base for hunting expeditions, its majestic arched hallways and painted ballrooms were reduced to rubble following years of neglect by the time the castle was finally demolished in 2017.

The aristocratic Liedekerke-Beaufort family lived in the castle until the Second World War, witnessing first-hand the Battle of the Bulge, before it was occupied by the Nazis for a time. Devastated by war and deterioration, its elegant structure was taken over by the National Railway Company of Belgium in 1950 and renamed Castle Noisy.

It was used as an orphanage and a holiday camp for the sickly children of the railway’s employees, who later reported mistreatment and cruelty at the hands of the staff. The orphanage closed in the 1970s due to soaring costs. A crumbling retro kitchen from the 1950s was all that remained of its time as a holiday camp.

In the years that followed, the castle deteriorated further, until a fire in 1995 – which is thought to have been started deliberately  destroyed an entire wing. Repair and renovation costs were deemed too excessive and a lack of investment brought further decay and dilapidation.

Reduced to little more than a ruin, save for this gatehouse, the site became a magnet for 'urban explorers', photographers and ghost-hunters, who were drawn to the eerie beauty of the derelict castle.

Then, in 2014, another fire sounded the death knell for the castle, when further damage made the site unsafe and beyond being salvaged. The family had already removed fireplaces, tiles and other objects of value by the time the demolition started in October 2016.

The demolition process took nearly a year, with the neo-Gothic turrets being removed first. The final part to be levelled was its iconic clock tower, which, rumour has it, worked perfectly until the end of the 20th century, despite never having been serviced.

Conserved in photographs and captured in several film productions, including the series Hannibal, where it starred as Lecter Castle, Castle Miranda is gone… but not forgotten.

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