From Goodfellas to Scarface, there are countless iconic movies about scandalous American gangsters, many of which were inspired by real-life people. Perhaps New Jersey's most notorious criminal, Albert Anastasia was responsible for helping to create the modern American Mafia and was also a co-founder of the Murder, Inc. crime group. 

Rising through the ranks, Anastasia became the kingpin of the Gambino crime family in the 1940s, and this billionaire bolthole is where he lived. Anastasia purchased the 1.3-acre plot in Fort Lee in 1947 and set about building himself a mansion worthy of a mafia boss. 

The 25-room Italianate-style home was designed to his exacting needs and features one-foot-thick concrete walls and at least two doorways in each room for making a swift escape. There's even a reported 'slaughter room', containing nothing but a drain. The space was allegedly used for preparing deer after hunting...

Spanning an impressive 8,551 square feet, the home comes with six bedrooms, an entertainment room with a bar and projector, a swimming pool and a pool house. Left relatively intact since the gangster's days, the retro kitchen and timber-clad office, where Anastasia no doubt hosted many a tense meeting, give us a fascinating insight into his life. The property is also said to have once harboured a secret escape tunnel, although it's unclear if it still exists.

Positioned on an idyllic lot, the mansion offers 180-degree views of Manhattan and the Hudson River. In the October of 1957, Anastasia's kingpin reign ended when he was assassinated in a barbershop. Following his death, the house passed to several other high-profile owners, including the American actor and comedian Buddy Hackett and local entrepreneur, Arthur Imperatore. The property was up for auction in 2015 with a £4.4 million ($5.5m) asking price but an eager buyer snapped up the house before bidding could commence.

A fraudulent financier of shocking proportions, Bernie Madoff duped his clients out of a staggering £55 billion ($64.8bn), operating the biggest financial fraud in US history and what's thought to be the world's largest Ponzi scheme. The law finally caught up with the New York-based swindler and he was jailed in 2009 for 150 years. In April 2021, Madoff passed away in federal prison at the age of 82.

Madoff managed to amass an impressive property portfolio before he was eventually caught. His plush penthouse apartment on Manhattan's exclusive Upper East Side was one of the finest residences in his collection –  and also the location of his arrest in December 2008. After posting an £8 million ($10m) bail, he was placed under 24-hour house arrest in the apartment until his trial. 

The neo-classical-style apartment building was constructed in 1927 and Madoff and his wife, Ruth, moved into the desirable top-floor duplex in 1984. Spanning 3,650 square feet, the Madoffs' luxurious former home has recently hit the market for a significant £12 million ($15m) with Brown Harris Stevens. While the interior has undergone a modern makeover, many of its historic features remain the same, as the latest listing images show.

Accessed by an elevator, the property has a total of three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms, plus a number of beautiful, sprawling reception rooms that overlook Manhattan. Views from the property extend as far as the Big Apple's iconic Chrysler Building. In the sun-drenched dining room, the stunning Palladian glass windows and intricate ceiling coving are unaltered from Bernie's tenure. 

Federal authorities sold off Madoff's penthouse in 2010 following the swindler's incarceration. Toy tycoon Alfred Kahn, the magnate behind the Cabbage Patch dolls, bought the residence for £7 million  ($8.9m). His wife, Patsy, reportedly fell in love with the skyline views, but Alfred was concerned about the home's karma. It's not hard to see why Patsy was drawn to the property – this curved landing, with its towering ceiling and sweeping staircase, is nothing short of spectacular. 

When compared with press photos taken in 2009 following Bernie's conviction, the narrow galley kitchen is relatively unchanged from when the Madoffs used the space. The white wood panelling, glass-fronted cabinetry and tiled floors are still intact, though the older appliances have been switched out for state-of-the-art models. 

With its luxurious marble-clad walls, the main bathroom appears much as it was over a decade ago too, though contemporary fixtures such as a back-lit vanity mirror bring the spa-like space up to date. The Kahns sold the penthouse in 2014 in rather strange circumstances, following what was ominously referred to as a "mysterious fire" at the property. During the sale, the pair reportedly separated and divorced. This unfortunate series of events has caused some to speculate that the penthouse is cursed...

This room was more recently converted into an all-white nursery, however, previous listing images from when the penthouse went up for sale in 2014 show how it used to look. Formerly a grand home office, the space still looked incredibly similar to when Bernie resided here. Dark wood panelling encircled the room, while a grand white marble fireplace stood centre stage, flanked by two built-in bookcases.

Following Bernie's trial, his assets were sold off by authorities. Belongings from the Madoffs' Manhattan penthouse were auctioned off at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on 10 November 2010. With hundreds of items on offer, lots ranged from Bernie's black bedroom slippers to brass dinnerware and even an enormous emerald-cut diamond. Proceeds from the sales went to compensate the victims of his fraudulent scheme.

As well as his Manhattan penthouse, Madoff also owned this breathtaking beach house in the Hamptons. Nestled amongst picturesque sand dunes, the property sits on 1.5 acres of prime real estate in New York's affluent vacation hotspot. Records show that Madoff and his wife, Ruth, purchased the plot of land in the 1980s for a mere £200,000 ($250k) and set about building the beach house we see today.

Before it was sold off by US marshals in 2009, the house, though super-valuable, had become decidedly dated and was described by a local agent as “a 1980s dump set in a fabulous location”. The new owners, Vornado Realty Trust CEO Steven Roth and his wife, Tony Award-winning producer Daryl Roth, picked up the mansion for £7.5 million ($9.4m) and soon set about giving it a major makeover.

Other desirable features of the renovated property include the 30-foot stone fireplace, an expansive smart home automation system and a stunning freeform gunite swimming pool. The residence was previously listed for just under £16 million ($20m) in 2018. It was relisted again in 2020 and it's now back on the market again for £18 million ($22.5m). If the Roths get their asking price, they'll stand to make a significant return on the £7.5 million ($9.4m) they purchased the property for. Not bad for the former home of a fraudster...

With so many enemies to contend with, Capone was understandably paranoid when it came to security. To quell his anxiety, he reportedly splurged £160,000 ($200k) on extra security for the amazing estate, which is about £2.4 million ($3m) today when adjusted for inflation. These additions included the installation of a seven-foot-high wall complete with searchlights, as well as a gatehouse.

Mae Capone eventually sold the four-bedroom property in 1952. It last traded hands for £12.5 million ($15.5m) in October 2021, when it was saved from the wrecking ball. The former mafia hideout retains some of its original Art Deco features, including a glam powder room and tiled fireplaces.

The rumoured inspiration for the character of Tony Soprano in the award-winning HBO series, mobster-turned-FBI-informant Vincent Palermo, AKA Vinny Ocean, was the de facto boss of New Jersey's DeCavalcante crime family. After cooperating with law enforcement, Palermo was placed in witness protection, adopting the pseudonym Vincent Cabella.

The luxurious, blinged-out mansion even features a roomy home cinema – perfect for watching all those Sopranos reruns. Palermo's cover was blown in 2009 and several weeks later, he listed the mansion with an asking price of £3.2 million ($4m). It failed to sell, so he took it off the market. The property was listed again in 2015 and purchased the following year for £2.3 million ($2.9m). 

The River Forest mansion was bought in 1983 by an anonymous buyer who listed the property in 2017 for £1.8 million ($2.3m). The home languished on the market and following a series of price cuts, recently sold for just over £880,000 ($1.1m), well below the price the owner hoped for.

The master bedroom of the dictator's lavish home was kitted out with Versailles-esque furniture and copious gilding, along with a priceless Murano glass mirror and yet another crystal chandelier. Ceaușescu also installed a striking indoor swimming pool, hiring Bucharest's best artisans to adorn the pool room with mosaic tiles and swathes of marble.

Dripping in gold, the most ostentatious finishes were saved for the inordinately expensive bathroom. From the taps to the toilet roll holders, the fixtures are made from solid gold. The dictator's rule came to an end in 1989 during the Romanian Revolution. Ceaușescu and his wife were convicted of genocide and executed by firing squad on Christmas Day. The property of the Romanian government, the palace is now a museum. 

Presiding over a regime that has gone down in history as especially brutal and corrupt, Ferdinand Marcos was president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. Accused of rigging elections and using martial law to assume absolute power over the country, Marcos amassed a reported fortune of up to £8 billion ($10bn) while in office.

Malaysian businessman Jho Low, who helped finance the production of The Wolf of Wall Street,  Low, is currently a fugitive wanted by the FBI for his alleged involvement in Malaysia's multibillion-dollar 1MDB corruption scandal. According to the indictment, Low is accused of conspiracy to launder billions of dollars in illegal proceeds but he denies any wrongdoing. 

In 2012, before he fled the US, Low splashed £31.4 million ($39m) on this slick contemporary mansion in the affluent celebrity hotspot of LA's Hollywood Hills. With its slick glass exterior and dazzling front deck overlooking the city skyline, the trophy home is a modern masterpiece.

After Low fled the country, the federal authorities seized the head-turning mansion and listed it on the market. The six-bedroom, seven-bathroom property was eventually sold in 2019 for the knockdown price of £14.9 million ($18.5m), significantly lower than the asking price of £19.7 million ($24.5m) and less than half of what Lowe paid for it in 2012.

Estimated to have been worth up to £24 billion ($30bn) before his death in the 1990s, notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar was one of the richest villains in history. The Colombian criminal was the founder and leader of the infamous Medellín Cartel and at his height, he was responsible for over 80% of the cocaine that entered the US.

The beachfront estate featured bulletproof walls and would have been heavily guarded. Despite the many precautions he took to stay safe, the Colombian cartel boss was shot dead in his hometown of Medellín in December 1993.

Highlights of the hotel include a secret underground swimming pool built in a cave where Escobar is said to have hidden vast sums of cash. Other draws include priceless pieces of artwork, plus two restaurants serving exquisite Yucatán cuisine and a blissful beach garden complete with swings and hammocks. 

The man who perfected the fraudulent investing scheme that bears his name, Charles Ponzi is one of the most prolific con men of all time. Operating in the US and Canada, the swindler would pay out returns to clients with other investors' money. 

He snapped up this handsome Colonial Revival home in Lexington, Massachusetts in 1920, mere months before he was arrested and charged with 86 counts of mail fraud. At the time of the property's purchase, Ponzi was pulling in just over £200,000 ($250k) a day from his various scams, the equivalent of £2.6 million ($3.2m) in today's money.

The mansion was purchased by an eminent lawyer, who held onto it for 70 years. The seven-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bathroom home, which last sold in 2015 for £2 million ($2.5m), has since been remodelled but many of the original features Ponzi installed, including the cornices, mouldings and original zinc sink in the butler's pantry, remain in place.

The elegant dining room with its huge dining table, regal wallpaper and chandeliers is likely to have looked similar in 1920 when Ponzi lived in the mansion. The palatial property also features a carriage house and almost an acre of idyllic gardens, a far cry from the cell Ponzi occupied during his long stretch behind bars. 

Loved this? Like and follow us on Facebook for more fascinating real homes