Ukrainian Billionaire Is The Mysterious Buyer Of $220 Million French Villa

Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man and mining magnate, has been revealed as the buyer of a 14-bedroom historic villa in the French Riviera.

Villa Les Cedres, in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, south east France, was sold by Italian drinks group Campari to an unnamed entity last July for €200 million (some $220 million at the time).

SCM Holdings Limited, Akhmetov’s company, issued a statement saying that it “sees the asset as long-term investment”.  

“For SCM Holdings Limited, real estate is a key business area for investment in Europe and North America along with mining and metals, energy, media and transportation,” read the statement of the acquisition, which was first reported by the Financial Times. 

The Italianate Palladian villa was once world’s most expensive house – a record currently retained by Rutland Gate in London, which earlier this month sold for an eye watering $262 million.

Villa Les Cedres spans around 18,000 sq ft of space on a 14-hectare estate. It also features an Olympic-sized swimming pool, as well as 35-acres of gardens and lawns, 20 greenhouses and stables for up to 30 horses.

The villa was once the home of King Leopold II of Belgium, for which it was originally built in 1830 using profits from land-grabs and slave trade in Congo.  

Akhmetov, who ranks 272 on Forbes’ billionaires list, has a current net worth of $6.7 billion. 

He is the founder of System Capital Management JSC, Ukraine’s largest industrial conglomerate, and the owner Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club.

The billionaire tycoon already owns a £137 million flat in London’s One Hyde Park, facing the Harrods department store – one of the most expensive homes in the U.K.

The son of a coal miner, Akhmetov amassed a vast fortune buying up mining assets during the 1990s privatization era in Ukraine.

This post first appeared on Forbes.com. To see the original, click here.