Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman. Photograph:( Reuters )
A French chateau which sold recently for 320 US million dollars -- making it the world's most expensive house -- was bought by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, news reports said.
The house, the Chateau Louis XIV in Versailles near Paris, has indoor and outdoor pools, a private cinema, a squash court, two ballrooms, and a nightclub.
Other recent extravagant buys by Salman include a $500 million yacht and a $450 million Leonardo da Vinci painting.
Salman is also currently leading a massive crackdown on corruption in the kingdom which raises several questions over his acquisitions.
The crackdown has ensnared a number of other Saudi princes and businessmen.
The Saudi embassy in Washington called the news reports "subjective":
In spite of this subjective reporting that self serves their personal agenda, the silver lining here is that there’s even more motivation to continually engage with the Press to share KSA’s amazing transformational story under the guidance of our current leadership. https://t.co/uLuwM4p8tO
— Fatimah S Baeshen (@FatimahSBaeshen) December 16, 2017
The Chateau Louis XIV is modelled on 17th-century French castles but was actually only built a few years ago.
Salman is thought to have bought the house using shell companies.
The buyer, who was unknown at the time of the purchase in 2015, was later revealed by the news reports to be an investment company managed by Crown Prince Salman's personal foundation.
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