Friday, August 28, 2009

Excess (with the shiny comes the tarnished)

My last blog was about an average couple doing something unexpected and really quite nice.....this one is about something that hopped off the headlines and offended me this morning.






Richest Man In India Builds $1 Billion House


What would you do if your net worth were $22 billion? If you were Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani, you might build yourself the world's most expensive home. As designed by Chicago architecture firm Perkins + Will, the in-progress glass-tower is estimated at $1 billion and is known to feature, at the least, a health club, multiple "safe" rooms, 3 helipads, 168 parking spaces and require 600 servants to maintain, and physically, the structure stands at 27 stories, or 570 feet tall.

According to the Mumbai Mirror, the tower will also contain:

Floor for car maintenance Sources said the Ambanis would prefer to have all their cars serviced and maintained at an in-house service centre. This centre will be set up on the seventh floor.

Entertainment floor
The eighth floor will have an entertainment centre comprising a mini-theatre with a seating capacity of 50.

Balconies with gardens
The rooftop of the mini-theatre will serve as a garden, and immediately above that, three more balconies with terrace gardens will be independent floors.

The 'health' floors
While the ninth floor will a 'refuge' floor -- meant to be used for rescue in emergencies -- two floors above that will be set aside for 'health.' One of these will have facilities for athletics and a swimming pool, while the other will have a health club complete with the latest gym equipment.

Family
The four floors at the top, that will provide a view of the Arabian Sea and a superb view of the city's skyline, will be for Mukesh, his wife Neeta, their three children and Mukesh's mother Kokilaben.

Air space floor
According to the plan, two floors above the family's residence will be set aside as maintenance areas, and on top of that will be an "air space floor," which will act as a control room for helicopters landing on the helipad above.


Watch a video of the tower's progress here:



Granted...the economic stimulus from building this monster will help the country. Plus it's creating 600 jobs.....servant class jobs in a very class/caste based society.....but SERIOUSLY!!! a billion dollars for a house...1 house...when you have filth filled ghettos and starving children on the streets?

Hopefully he'll be able to look out the window of the huge tower and actually SEE the condition of his people.....then maybe he'll use some of that other 20+billion dollars he has in his larder to actually make a difference.


he could have spent a million or 10 on a mighty fine mansion..then used the rest feed, house and educate a lot of children.

2 comments:

  1. I've see video of this monstrosity...I'm with you!

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  2. Seriously! not only is it an awful amount to spend on a house for one family..it's also an offensively ugly building.

    10 mil...you could build Camelot...luxury in the extreme....and then take the rest of the billion and do something useful like ...build schools, wholesome houses for the poor and hospitals....ohhhh..hydroponic farms and fish hatcheries...

    I could do SO much with that kind of money.

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