The leaders of the world's richest countries get to live in some pretty palatial residences while they are in office. But which premiers live a life of unbridled luxury and which are partial to a more humble abode? Who has the most expensive home from which to run a nation?

A peek into the places that the likes of Vladimir Putin, Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump call home, click or scroll to take a look inside world leaders’ houses, ranked from the modest to the unashamedly extravagant.

*Prices correct at the time of publication

Cyril Ramaphosa, once a close ally of Nelson Mandela, was re-elected as South Africa’s president in June 2024 after a landmark coalition deal between the African National Congress (ANC) and opposition parties.

Support for the ANC has declined due to widespread corruption, unemployment, and crime. In May 2024, the party lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years, forcing it to ally with smaller parties, including the Democratic Alliance, to remain in power.

Mahlamba Ndlopfu and Oliver Tambo House are the official residences of South Africa’s president and deputy president, located on the Bryntirion Estate in Pretoria.

Set within 270,000 square feet (25,000sqm) of gardens, Mahlamba Ndlopfu was formerly called Libertas. After the end of Apartheid and Nelson Mandela’s election as the first black president, it was renamed Mahlamba Ndlopfu, meaning 'new dawn' in Tsonga. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were pictured inside in this picture.

Oliver Tambo House, originally known as Overvaal, was built in 1937 and first served as the residence for the Administrator of the former Transvaal Province.

This is the exterior of Mahlamba Ndlopfu mansion, built in 1940 in a traditional Cape Dutch style. The upkeep of both residences was said to cost almost R46 million (almost £2m/$2.5m) according to public works minister Sihle Zikalala’s response during parliamentary questions in June 2023. This does not include other presidential residences in Durban and Cape Town.

Ramaphosa is a notoriously private man and little is known about his personal life, but he is considered to be one of the richest people in South Africa, with an estimated net worth of around $450 million (£351m) according to Forbes. Although he lives in the Pretoria mansion for much of the time, he also owns a luxury property at the foot of Lion's Head in Cape Town.

Anthony Albanese is a relative newcomer to the upper echelons of politics, taking on the role of Australia's PM in May 2022. While studying economics at the University of Sydney he joined the Labor Party and later worked as a party official and research officer before entering Parliament.

He came under fire in late 2024 for buying an AUS$4.3 million (£2.2m/$2.8) waterfront home on the New South Wales Central Coast before an election in the middle of a housing crisis.

The father of one technically also has two official prime ministerial residences he could choose to live in, The Lodge in Canberra and Kirribilli House in Sydney. Let's see which one he opted for...

More small country house than sprawling palace, Anthony Albanese currently lives in The Lodge, which sits on 193,750 square feet (18,000sqm) of grounds and has 40 rooms in total.

Built in the 1920s, the Canberra property was only intended to serve as a temporary residence, requiring an expensive upkeep and several renovations, the latest seeing it close then reopen in 2016 after AUS$9.4 million (£5m/$6.3m) of refurbishments according to British newspaper The Guardian.

That's probably why numerous Aussie PMs have chosen to live elsewhere or at Kirribilli House.

Although The Lodge is the prime minister's main official residence, he also has the use of Kirribilli House (seen here), which has been set aside for the use of Australian PMs since 1956.

Designed in the rustic cottage ornée style and built in 1855, it sits on the Sydney harbourside and commands impressive views out to iconic landmarks such as the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. 

Recent estimates according to website urban.com put its market value at around AUS$54.5 million (£28.3m/$37m). 

Sir Keir Starmer became the UK’s new prime minister after his Labour Party swept to power in a landslide general election victory in July 2024.

The son of a tool maker and a nurse, who studied at Leeds University and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, Starmer is a former human rights defence lawyer, knighted in 2014 in recognition of his work as head of the Crown Prosecution Service.

He lived in Kentish Town in the London Borough of Camden with his wife Victoria and two children. When he took office, he was expected to move into the larger flat above Number 11 but he stuck with tradition and now lives at 10 Downing Street.

While 10 Downing Street has been the official residence of British Prime Ministers since 1735, former PM Tony Blair broke with tradition when he took power in 1997, opting for the larger residential quarters next door at 11 Downing Street.

Subsequent PMs Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson all followed suit, but Rishi Sunak was content in the smaller flat at number 10 he occupied as Chancellor of the Exchequer. 

At around 3,800 square feet (353sqm), the simple Georgian townhouse at number 10 is estimated to be worth around £5.3 million ($6.9m) according to data from estate agency Stone Real Estate, so the larger flat above number 11 may be worth more.

Given the political and cultural significance of the properties, they are both likely to fetch substantial amounts if they were put on the market.

The UK PM is also granted the use of an official country residence, Chequers Court. Intended to be a retreat from the pressures of political life, it was donated by a Conservative MP and his American heiress wife in 1917 and today boasts a heated swimming pool and tennis court.

Boris Johnson retreated to the 16th-century manor with his pregnant wife Carrie in 2020 to recover from COVID-19, while his successor, Liz Truss, is said to have spent her last weekend as leader partying here with friends following her disastrous 44-day premiership.

The residence is reported to cost UK taxpayers more than £1 million ($1.3m) a year to maintain according to UK news site mylondon.co.uk.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, known as MBS, was appointed prime minister in 2022, having previously served as defence minister from 2015.

The role of PM is usually held by the king of the oil-rich state. However, the declining health of his elderly father, King Salman, led him to hand over the reins of power to his favourite seventh son earlier than expected.

While MBS has attempted to modernise the country by lifting the ban on women driving, for example, he has also been accused of approving the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 as reported by the BBC.

Qasr Al-Hukm in Riyadh is Saudi Arabia's traditional seat of government and the official residence of its ruler. The impressive palace is also known as the Justice Palace, due to its square being the site of historic executions.

When it was built, Qasr Al-Hukm was the largest structure in Riyadh. Its main hall alone is the size of three football pitches and has 45-foot-high (13.7m) ceilings. 

With an estimated net worth of £3.9 billion ($5bn), the crown prince and prime minister could easily afford to buy the property, which has been valued at £17 million ($22m) according to The New Statesman, many times over.

The fortress-style palace was built during the 19th century and sprawls over 118,000 square feet (11k sqm). 

The palace and its surrounding streets were renovated in the 1980s, reportedly to the tune of some £46.2 million ($60m), but that is still just a fraction of the £231million ($300m) said to have been paid for Chateau Louis XlV, the mansion he bought in Paris in 2015 as reported by global publication The Economic Times.

In September 2015, the Saudi government opened the Qasr Al-Hukm to the public for the first time, giving them a glimpse inside the extraordinary residence.

Dubbed 'El Loco’ (the madman) by his critics, Javier Milei stormed to victory in the November 2023 elections in Argentina, winning close to 56% of the votes.

The right-wing celebrity economist, who campaigned posing with a chainsaw to symbolise his promise to slash public spending, has cut public sector jobs, energy and transport subsidies and the value of the currency so people’s money is worth less than it was, according to the BBC. 

His brash personality and anti-establishment opinions have earned him comparisons to Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil.

Milei is unmarried with no children but swept aside anti-nepotism laws to appoint his sister Karina, also known as 'el jefe' (the boss), to a high-ranking role in his government. The colourful leader quickly took up residence in Quinta de Olivos on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, which is the official home of Argentina's president. 

The 87,000-square-foot (8,082sqm) palace was built in the mid-19th century (seen here in 1922) and according to reports, will also be home to sister Karina, his de facto First Lady, along with Human Capital Minister Sandra Pettovello and Cabinet Chief Nicolás Posse, who will live in guest houses in the grounds reports Argentinian newspaper the Buenos Aries Times.

The palace is so opulent that several former presidents of Argentina have opted to live elsewhere to avoid appearing out of touch with the people. Juan Domingo Perón is the only president who died there on July 1, 1974. He was married to the famous Eva Perón, played by Madonna in movie Evita.

The compound's many facilities include a mini-golf course and a helipad, contributing to the property’s latest market value of £17.9 million ($23m), estimated in 2017. In 2021, Newspaper The Indian Times reported a similar value of £16.9 million ($22m), but with Argentina’s inflation standing at 287% in May 2024, it may well be worth a little more by now!

Jonas Gahr Støre became Prime Minister of Norway in October 2021, having served as Leader of the Labour Party since 2014. He is married to Marit Slagsvold with three children.

He has previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Health and Care Services having held numerous other senior positions in the civil service and humanitarian organisations, including as Secretary General of the Norwegian Red Cross from 2003 to 2005.

Whether addressing climate change, conflict resolution, or humanitarian crises, his vision extends beyond national borders and his leadership style emphasises dialogue and consensus-building, reflecting Norway’s political culture of cooperation across party lines.

The prime minister’s official residence is located at Inkognitogata 18 in Oslo. It’s a complex of old and new buildings including Inkognitogata 18, Parkveien 45 and Riddervolds Gate 2, which have been connected with new structures and gardens.

Historically, Parkveien 45, also known as 'Villa Parafina', due to its original owner, Frederik Sundt, being an importer of paraffin oil, was the original and first official home of the prime minister which played a vital role in the country’s history, since it was here that negotiations for Norway’s independence from Sweden were conducted in 1905.

The residence at Inkognitogata 18 meanwhile, covers an area of 7,212 square feet (670 sqm). Norwegian news source, Dagbladet reported in 2008 that the total cost for the renovation of the old buildings and creation of new linking buildings was NOK 350 million (£25m/$32m).

As you can see from this image of former Prime Minister Erna Solberg there in 2019, the residence is significantly more modest than some of the official homes on this list. The home’s interior was inspired by the Norwegian embassy residence in Berlin and much of the furniture was purchased from Nordic manufacturers, including the Swedish company IKEA. 

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, better known as Lula, started out as a metalworker and went on to become President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.

The father-of-five who's been married three times, was imprisoned for corruption and money laundering in 2018 but was freed in 2019, after serving 580 days in jail, with all charges eventually quashed in 2021.

In 2023, Lula ousted right-wing Jair Bolsonaro and became president once again, at the age of 77.

Looking more like a Bond villain's lair than a presidential palace, the modernist Palácio da Alvorada in Brasilia, which became the country’s new capital in 1960, was designed by the world-renowned architect Oscar Niemeyer and built between 1957 and 1958.

The building was heavily restored in 2006 at a cost of £14.3 million ($18.4m). Free from all Colonial architectural references, the palace comprises 75,000 square feet (650 sqm) and the rooms are arranged over three floors. The iconic building was estimated in 2023 to be worth around £36.2 million ($46.9m).

Packed with amenities, the Palácio da Alvorada houses a movie theatre, games room and medical centre and even has its own chapel and helipad. Yet, when new president Lula da Silva took office in 2023, the building looked like it might need another makeover.

According to numerous reports, former president Jair Bolsonaro had 'wrecked' the palace, leaving torn carpets and broken windows, as well as damaged artwork, some artwork allegedly disappeared entirely according to British newspaper The Guardian.

Mark Carney is Canada’s 24th Prime Minister. He was elected Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and sworn in as Prime Minister in March 2025.

Born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Prime Minister Carney is the son of teachers and studied at both Harvard University and Oxford University.

He started his career in finance, becoming head of the Bank of England in 2013. In 2020, he began serving as the United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance.

Carney will soon move into Rideau Cottage, which was the home of his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Owing to the advanced state of neglect of 24 Sussex Drive, Trudeau and his family moved into Rideau Cottage after he took office in 2015.

Every other prime minister preceding Trudeau has lived at 24 Sussex Drive. However, due to the need for extensive repairs, the official residence has not been in use since the former prime minister Stephen Harper lived there.

Built in 1867, the 22-room Georgian Revival building had been renovated in 2013, and the property is known for its beautifully understated design, characterised by a classically inspired central entrance.

24 Sussex Drive has been deemed by the government an uninhabitable fire trap, with leaky plumbing and asbestos in the walls. It would cost nearly three times the property’s estimated value of CA$13.3 million (£7.5m/$9.7m) to renovate it properly, so the future is uncertain for the 34-room home, which may never be occupied by another Canadian leader again.

Meanwhile, Rideau Cottage has a much more sizable value at £40 million ($51.3m), according to research by insurance provider Mashroom. However, the building is technically owned by the Head of the Commonwealth, King Charles III.

Born in Madrid to an affluent family, Pedro Sánchez became Spain's prime minister in 2018. The father-of-two was lagging behind in the polls before the opposition was hit by a corruption scandal and Sanchez managed to sneak a victory.

It hasn't been all plain sailing since. The socialist leader dealt with baseless right-wing attacks on his family which led him to threaten to resign in April 2024. However, after a five-day 'period of reflection' and a wave of support, he announced he would carry on as PM according to website Politico.

While Spain's Head of State, King Felipe VI, lives in the Palacio de la Zarzuela on the outskirts of Madrid, the country's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, resides in the Palace of Moncloa (pictured) in the centre of the capital.

A piece of prime real estate, it has been estimated to be worth £116 million ($150m) in a piece of research by real estate company Hatched in 2017. The palace was built by the architect, Diego Méndez, in the style of the Casa del Labrador in Aranjuez, which means 'house of the farm labourer'. In a similar vein, the Palace of Moncloa was originally a farm for agricultural use.

Despite its more humble beginnings, the Moncloa complex now has 16 buildings including a bunker and a hospital. The 352,000-square-foot (32,701 sqm) palace, which dates back to the 17th century, has been the property of the Spanish state since 1846 but was repurposed as the official residence of the country's PMs during the transition from monarchy to democracy in 1977.

The building has undergone significant updates over its life, including the construction of a tennis court and renovation of the pool. Adolfo Suarez, prime minister from 1976 to 1981, ordered the old main courtyard be covered, which is now known as the Hall of Columns and the newest building built in 2006 houses the deputy prime minister's office.

A member of the Republican Party, Donald Trump served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. In 2024, he won a second term, defeating Kamala Harris to become the 47th president of the United States at his inauguration in January 2025.

While he owns numerous properties across the United States, including Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, his main residence needs no introduction, being one of the most famous landmarks in the world... 

The iconic residence of the POTUS, the neoclassical White House is also the American leader's place of work. Dating back to 1792, the building has served as the official residence of every president since John Adams.

It holds 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, and has 8 staircases and 3 elevators. If you're wondering what it takes to keep it so white, that would be 570 gallons (3409 litres) of paint to cover its outside surface.

Size-wise, the White House totals 55,000 square feet (5,109 sqm), which is relatively compact for a presidential palace. The six-storey building consists of 132 rooms, including the famous Oval Office, seen here, and the Blue Room, as well as 35 bathrooms.

No wonder such a lavish pad is thought to be worth £448 million ($582m), according to British political journal The New Statesman. Interestingly, although it is one of the world's most iconic landmarks, the White House is a copy of the 1748 Leinster House in Dublin.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a divisive figure in his home country of Turkey, as well as on the world stage. He served as prime minister between 2003 and 2014, after which he rose to power as president and has remained in that role ever since.

In May 2023, Erdoğan won another five years in office, splitting an already deeply divided country.

The father-of-four has drawn international disapproval for jailing journalists, as reported in The New York Times, crushing dissenters and increasing trade with Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, as reported by digital publication Carnegie Politika.

Turkey's new presidential palace in the capital Ankara was completed in 2014.

Dubbed 'Ak Saray', aka the 'White House', the gargantuan 1,150-room complex is four times the size of the Palace of Versailles and the second-largest presidential complex in the world at 3.2 million square feet (297k sqm). 

But the pet project of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ak Saray has been mired in controversy since its conception...

Critics have lambasted the government for its extravagant spending on the palace interiors, which are packed with fine marble, lavish furnishings and expensive artworks.

Turkey’s Presidential Complex got a new addition in 2020 in the shape of an enormous state-of-the-art library with over four million print resources as reported by Turkish news outlet Daily Sabah.

This contributes to its staggering estimated worth of £500 million ($649m) as reported by British newspaper the Daily Mail. The palace is seen here in May 2023 after Erdoğan won a historic election, extending his rule until 2028.

Another relatively recent premier, Olaf Scholz took over from Angela Merkel as Germany's Chancellor in 2021. Scholz grew up in Hamburg and lived there until he moved to Potsdam in the German state of Brandenburg in 2018 with his wife, fellow politician Britta Ernst.

Once known as 'Scholzomat' for his robotic image, Scholz won popularity for his management of the COVID-19 crisis as finance minister. However, he has been facing criticism for his handling of an infamous €30 billion (£25.2bn/$32.7bn) tax fraud scandal, as reported online by Politico, and suffered a withering defeat in the European elections in June 2024.

So, who knows how much longer he'll be able to call his official residence home...

Although Germany's Federal Chancellery is the largest government headquarters in the world, the official residence of Chancellor Olaf Scholz is a rather more humble affair.

The two-bedroom apartment measures just 2,150 square feet (200 sqm) and is located on the top floor of the modern federal building located on the banks of the river Spree.

Building work started in 1997 after architects Charlotte Frank and Alex Schultes won a public competition with its postmodern design. 

Scholz receives dignitaries from around the world at the Chancellery, including Giorgia Meloni, seen here visiting the German premier in February 2023.

The honorary court is home to Berlin, a striking iron sculpture by Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida. The 18-foot-high (5m), 87.5-tonne (87.5k kilos) artwork is intended to symbolise political rapprochement and unification.

The Chancellery is undergoing a staggering €777 million (£653m/$848m) extension, which has drawn criticism for going dramatically over budget.

Droupadi Murmu became India's 15th president when she was elected in July 2022. She is the first to come from an indigenous tribal community.

Despite suffering the pain and tragedy of losing her husband, two sons and an infant daughter, Murmu forged a career as a teacher before entering politics in 1997, eventually serving as the governor of the state of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021.

She has one adult daughter and is deeply spiritual, reportedly waking at 3am every morning to meditate. 

The role of president is largely ceremonial in India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who won a third consecutive term in the 2024 general election, at the head of government.

The Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi is the official residence of the President of India. Formerly known as Viceroy House, the complex was designed by Edwin Lutyens, best known for designing English country houses, and built for the British Viceroy. It was completed in 1929.

The complex didn't become the official residence of India's first President until 1950 when Rajendra Prasad took control. That was also when the building was renamed. Rashtrapati Bhavan literally means President's House.

The main 340-room building and extensive gardens sit on a huge estate which sprawls over 2.2 million square feet (204k sqm) and includes numerous buildings for staff and official business. It's not surprising then that recent estimates from The New Statesman say the property is worth around £824 million ($1bn).

In October 2022, Italy welcomed a new leader, Giorgia Meloni. A far-right firebrand (a firebrand is a person who causes political or social trouble by opposing authority and encouraging others to do so), Italy's first female prime minister enjoyed a meteoric rise from teenage member of a neo-fascist party in Rome to the founder of the Brothers of Italy party, which she led for ten years before being voted into Italy's top job aged just 45.

Abandoned by her father, Meloni's childhood was one of 'hardship,' as reported in UK owned news outlet The New European. Nevertheless she looks happily at home in her palatial political residence.

Italy's leader is entitled to live in the Quirinal Palace in Rome while in office. Originally a papal summer residence, the palace, which dates back to the 16th century, became the official presidential residence in 1946.

It has so far served as the official home of 30 popes, four kings and 12 presidents and has an incredible 1,200 rooms including one called The Room of the Flood, a name given during its papal days. Property website Hatched puts the historic estate's value at some £945 million ($1.2bn).

The exceedingly spacious palace covers around 1.2 million square feet (111k sqm), making it one of the largest palaces in the world and 20 times larger than the White House. On top of that (pun intended), the palace sits on prime Roman real estate atop Quirinal Hill, the highest of the seven hills of Rome.

The PM also has access to two further official residences; Villa Rosebery, so called because it was once owned by British prime minister, the 5th Earl of Rosebery, in Naples, and Castelporziano, a stunning country estate on the outskirts of Rome.

Emmanuel Macron became the youngest-ever President of France in May 2017. After calling a snap election in June 2024 following significant losses in the European Parliament elections, his party lost its majority and the extent of his waning popularity was revealed. 

Macron has vowed he will stay in office until his second term ends in May 2027 according to French news outlet France 24, so he will have plenty of time to enjoy the stunning homes at his disposal.

These include Fort de Brégançon, a medieval fortress on an islet in the French Riviera, La Lanterne, a hunting lodge in Versailles and Château de Rambouillet, which Marie-Antoinette declared a 'gothic toad-house', for meetings. But the jewel in the crown is surely the Elysée Palace.

Located on the prestigious Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, the Elysée Palace is the official residence of the President of France Emmanuel Macron.

The ornate palace, which was completed in the 18th century, totals 118,000 square feet (10,962spm) and according to research undertaken by political news organisation The New Statesman, is worth £1.29 billion ($1.7bn).

Unlike other presidential residences, the Elysée Palace is super-private and foreign dignitaries stay at the luxe Hotel de Marigny rather than the palace itself. 

Former French president Francois Hollande is pictured here being interviewed at the presidential property in 2013, surrounded by a lavish, heavily gilded interior.

Former President Charles de Gaulle organised the purchase of the Hotel de Marigny in 1972 to avoid "meeting kings walking around my corridors in their pyjamas” as reported by newspaper The Times of Malta.

Russian leader President Vladimir Putin was a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years before he began his political career under Boris Yeltsin. He has served continuously as either president or prime minister since 1999, rising to become one of the world's most controversial leaders.

In 2022, he launched a military invasion of Ukraine and he was indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in 2023 as reported by independent, nonprofit media organisation NPR. His government has been accused of being behind the murders of political critics and rivals. 

Putin's net worth is estimated to be between £54 billion ($70bn) and £154 billion ($200bn) and he is rumoured to have a lavish property portfolio, but let's take a look at his official residence...

Meaning, 'fortress inside a city,' the Kremlin is a vast complex that includes five palaces, four cathedrals and a helipad and while the complex is priceless, its estimated worth would be something in the region of £2.31 billion ($3bn). 

The Grand Kremlin Palace is currently the main official residence of the Russian president in Moscow. The site has been continuously occupied since the 2nd century BC, with work starting on the existing structure around 1838. Putin doesn't actually live in the Kremlin Palace though...

He has many homes, but Putin's official residence since 2000 is Novo-Ogaryovo in Moscow, where the Russian leader lives and hosts visitors. He even remained in the large pastel yellow mansion during his four-year break from the presidency between 2008 and 2012.

It's this (pictured) sprawling pile on the Black Sea coast, however, that has caused the most controversy as reported by British newspaper The Guardian. Known colloquially as Putin’s Palace, opposition leader Alexei Navalny claimed that the Italianate mega-mansion belongs to the Russian president in a video that went viral on YouTube in 2021.

He alleged the ultra-lavish property cost £1 billion ($1.4bn) to build and that taxpayer money was used to fund its construction.

Alexander Van der Bellen became Federal President of Austria in January 2017 and was re-elected in October 2022 for a second six-year term.

Although his role is largely ceremonial, he holds significant constitutional powers and presided over six chancellors in seven administrations during his first term.

A former Green Party member, Van der Bellen is a strong advocate for environmental protection, climate policy and democratic values. He opposed Austria's limit on asylum-seekers and stated he would refuse to swear in a government led by the far-right Freedom Party, as reported by website Good Country.

The President of Austria resides in the historic Hofburg Imperial Palace, once the winter residence of the Habsburg dynasty. Dating back to the 17th century, this vast palace complex now serves as both the president's home and workplace.

Visitors can explore its imperial past through the opulent apartments, the Sisi Museum, which honours Empress Elisabeth, wife of Franz Joseph, and its extensive silver collections.

Spanning over 2.5 million square feet (240,000 sqm), the Hofburg also houses artwork by Klimt and Dürer and features the renowned Spanish Riding School, home to the famous Lipizzaner horses

The Leopoldine Wing of the Hofburg Imperial Palace has been home to the President of Austria since 1946. Commissioned by Emperor Leopold l but burned down soon after it was completed in 1667, it was not restored until 1683. Only the façade remains from Leopold l’s era.

Today, visitors can wander through the stunning chambers on the first floor, or ‘bel étage’, and gain insights into his everyday work life.

It is virtually impossible to calculate the value of the palace complex. However, based on figures provided by realtors Engel & Völkers for land per sqm in Vienna’s first district, the Hofburg could easily be worth around £3.1 billion ($4bn) for the land alone, without even considering its enormous historic and cultural significance.

Xi Jinping is currently serving a historic third term as China's president, a position he's held since 2012.

Although the role of president is typically ceremonial, Xi has managed to consolidate his power by also becoming General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

He has drawn criticism for his ultra-strict handling of the COVID-19 crisis, China's alleged spying operation targeting the UK and the US, as reported by Japanese-owned but UK-based the Financial Times and the Chinese government's 'genocidal' treatment of its Uyghur population according to the BBC. 

President Xi's official residence is here in the Zhongnanhai complex. Standing just west of Beijing's vast Forbidden City, it was once an imperial garden and is now the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party and the central government.

Zhongnanhai totals a staggering 37 million square feet (3.4m sqm), which explains its astronomical £31 billion ($40bn) evaluation according to Hatched. The complex is more than 17,000 times larger than Olaf Scholz's official residence, and almost 44,000 times more valuable.

During Chairman Mao Zedong's rule, the Library of Chrysanthemum Fragrance in his private residence was said to be his favourite place.

In an article by international auction house Sotheby's, according to former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who visited Mao there, "manuscripts lined bookshelves along every wall; books covered the table and the floor; it looked more the retreat of a scholar than the audience room of the all-powerful leader of the world’s most populous nation."

Loved this? Follow us on Facebook for more expensive homes of the rich and famous