No man is an island, but a few luxury homes are -- specifically, this 63-acre island, which belongs to the descendants of a baking powder mogul. This magnificent property in Darien, CT, is now up for sale at $175 million. A buyer would be staring down a mortgage of $900,000 per month -- after providing a 20% down payment of $35 million!
However, with this pricey property, we doubt a buyer will be fretting over the monthly mortgage payment. We smell cash and lots of it. The Connecticut manse is currently the second most expensive home in the land, trailing only a $195 million estate in Florida. Naturally, it snagged the title of most expensive home in the Nutmeg State by a wide margin, besting the Thimble Islands by nearly $100 million.
Details of the home on the island, known simply as Great Island, are shrouded in mystery because there are no interior photos available. We know the original owner of the estate was William Ziegler, a founder of the Royal Baking Powder Co. He bought the island and built the main house around 1902; the estate has been kept within the family ever since.
The main house took over 200 stone masons to build. The island also features several small homes, a massive stable with a tiled ceiling fashioned to look like a concourse in Grand Central Station, an 1800s house, a caretaker's house, beach homes, and a cove that can be used to secure boats in case of a storm.
If it sells, Great Island will break the "most expensive home ever sold" record, a title currently held by an East Hampton estate that hedge fund manager Barry Rosenstein bought for $147 million in 2014.