A penthouse is the rarest unit in any building. There is exactly one, it cannot be replicated, and in the world's supply-constrained prime markets that scarcity produces prices reading more like corporate acquisitions than home purchases.
This ranking covers confirmed, completed transactions only. Asking prices are excluded, which removes several of the headline numbers circulating online, including Monaco's five-storey Sky Penthouse at Tour Odeon, marketed at roughly $335 million in 2016 but never publicly recorded as sold, and the $250 million listing at Central Park Tower in New York. Where a sale was denominated in another currency, we convert at the rate prevailing at the time of the deal.
The most striking pattern below: half of the top ten sit in Dubai, and every one of those deals was struck since 2023.
The Ranking at a Glance
| # | Residence | City | Price (USD) | Size | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 220 Central Park South penthouse | New York | About $238M | About 24,000 sq ft | 2019 |
| 2 | One Hyde Park, Block B duplex | London | About $237M | About 16,000 sq ft | 2014 |
| 3 | One Hyde Park, Block A triplex | London | About $221M | About 25,000 sq ft | 2011 |
| 4 | Bugatti Residences, Sky Mansion | Dubai | About $150M | About 47,200 sq ft | 2025 |
| 5 | Como Residences, Palm Jumeirah | Dubai | About $136M | 21,949 sq ft | 2023 |
| 6 | Aman New York, 730 Fifth Avenue | New York | $135M | 12,536 sq ft | 2022 |
| 7 | Aman Residences, Jumeirah | Dubai | About $115M | About 31,000 sq ft | 2026 |
| 8 | Central Park Tower duplex | New York | $115M | About 17,000 sq ft | 2022 |
| 9 | Marsa Al Arab, Jumeirah | Dubai | About $114M | 24,628 sq ft | 2023 |
| 10 | Bulgari Lighthouse triplex | Dubai | About $112M | Over 39,000 sq ft | 2023 |
1. 220 Central Park South, New York: About $238 Million
The benchmark. Hedge fund founder Ken Griffin closed on the penthouse at 220 Central Park South in January 2019 for approximately $238 million, setting the record for the most expensive home ever sold in the United States and, by most accountings, the most expensive apartment ever sold anywhere.
The apartment runs to roughly 24,000 square feet, which works out at just under $10,000 per square foot. The Robert A.M. Stern-designed tower, developed by Vornado Realty Trust at an estimated construction cost of $1.4 billion, faces the southern entrance to Central Park. Griffin's purchase eclipsed the previous American record of $147 million, set by a Hamptons estate in 2014, by more than 60%.
Context worth noting: the same month, Griffin also acquired a London townhouse near Buckingham Palace for around $122 million. Neither transaction was a lifestyle decision in isolation. Both were positions.
2. One Hyde Park, Block B Penthouse, London: About $237 Million
Land Registry documents revealed that a duplex penthouse in the Candy brothers' Knightsbridge development sold in May 2014 for 160 million pounds, then approximately $237 million and still the highest price ever paid for a British home.
The buyer was recorded as two Guernsey-registered vehicles, a structure typical of the era's ultra-prime London market. One Hyde Park was completed in 2011 by Candy and Candy in partnership with Qatari investors, and its 86 apartments have housed a roster of international billionaires.
3. One Hyde Park, Block A Triplex, London: About $221 Million
Three years before the Block B record, Ukrainian industrialist Rinat Akhmetov paid a reported 136 million pounds, roughly $221 million at the time, for a three-floor apartment in Block A. It was the world record price for an apartment when it completed and remains the second-highest London residential transaction on record.
That a single building holds two of the three largest apartment sales in history says something about how narrow the true trophy market is. There are perhaps two dozen buildings on earth capable of producing a nine-figure residential transaction.
4. Bugatti Residences by Binghatti, Sky Mansion, Dubai: About $150 Million
The Middle East record. In late 2025 a Sky Mansion penthouse at Bugatti Residences in Business Bay sold for AED 550 million, approximately $150 million, making it the most expensive penthouse ever sold not just in the UAE but across the region.
The unit spans roughly 47,200 square feet, the single largest floor area in this ranking and nearly double the size of the Manhattan record-holder. At AED 11,650 per square foot it also set the highest rate ever achieved in Business Bay. The tower, a collaboration between Binghatti and the French marque, features private car lifts allowing owners to bring vehicles directly into the residence. Footballers Neymar Jr. and Aymeric Laporte are among the reported purchasers.
5. Como Residences, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai: About $136 Million
Nakheel's 71-storey Como Residences tower on Palm Jumeirah recorded a AED 500 million penthouse sale in late 2023, roughly $136 million. The five-bedroom unit covers 21,949 square feet, comes with private lift access, and is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2027.
At the time, Dubai Land Department records confirmed it as the emirate's most expensive penthouse sale, and international coverage ranked it third in the world. Our piece on why Palm Jumeirah remains the Gulf's most coveted address explains the scarcity behind those numbers.
6. Aman New York, 730 Fifth Avenue: $135 Million
In 2022 a five-storey penthouse at Aman New York sold for $135 million to Vladislav Doronin, the developer of the building itself and Aman's chairman. The 12,536 square foot residence occupies floors 22 to 26 of the landmarked Beaux-Arts Crown Building on Fifth Avenue.
The unit traded as a white box, meaning raw unfinished space, at approximately $10,800 per square foot. It had previously been marketed at $180 million in 2018 without finding a buyer, a useful reminder that asking prices in this segment often bear little relationship to clearing prices.
7. Aman Residences Dubai, Jumeirah: About $115 Million
The newest entry here. In March 2026 a six-bedroom penthouse at Aman Residences on the Jumeirah peninsula sold for AED 422 million, approximately $115 million, according to Dubai Land Department data.
The residence spans more than 31,000 square feet within a branded beachfront development by H and H, with completion expected in 2027. The deal landed during Dubai's record first quarter of 2026, when total property transactions reached AED 251.4 billion, up 28.5% year on year.
8. Central Park Tower Penthouse Duplex, New York: $115 Million
A duplex at Central Park Tower on Billionaires' Row traded for $115 million in June 2022. The building holds the title of the world's tallest residential tower, and its uppermost penthouse, perched 1,416 feet above Central Park across 17,545 square feet, was famously listed at $250 million.
That $250 million listing has never transacted at anything approaching its asking price, which is precisely why it does not appear higher in this ranking.
9. Marsa Al Arab Penthouse, Jumeirah, Dubai: About $114 Million
In May 2023 a penthouse on the top floor of the under-development Marsa Al Arab hotel sold for AED 420 million, roughly $114 million. The unit spans 24,628 square feet at approximately AED 17,000 per square foot, which at the time was the highest rate achieved on a Dubai apartment of that scale.
For a brief window it held the title of Dubai's most expensive apartment, having narrowly overtaken a Bulgari Lighthouse deal recorded weeks earlier.
10. Bulgari Lighthouse Triplex, Jumeirah Bay Island, Dubai: About $112 Million
In February 2023 a three-storey penthouse at Bulgari Lighthouse on Jumeirah Bay Island sold for AED 410 million, approximately $112 million, across a footprint reported at more than 39,000 square feet.
The 28-storey tower, developed by Meraas and designed by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel, sits on a small reclaimed peninsula off Jumeirah Bay adjacent to the Bulgari Yacht Club. The building's final two penthouses sold in mid-2025 for a combined AED 282 million, the larger 11,657 square foot unit achieving AED 146.6 million.
Jumeirah Bay Island has become a submarket of its own. A separate 24,500 square foot plot of bare land on the island sold for AED 125 million, a figure that would buy a palatial mansion almost anywhere else on earth.
Honourable Mentions
One57, New York, about $100.5 million in 2014. The duplex penthouse on floors 89 and 90 of the Christian de Portzamparc tower was, for a period, New York's record holder and the deal widely credited with opening the nine-figure Manhattan market.
Mount Nicholson 16D, Hong Kong, $82.2 million in 2021. Not the largest cheque on this page, but on a rate basis arguably the most expensive apartment ever sold anywhere: HK$140,800 per square foot, roughly $18,100, across just 4,544 square feet.
Tour Odeon Sky Penthouse, Monaco, marketed at about $335 million. The five-floor apartment with its private water slide has been the internet's default answer to "most expensive penthouse" for a decade. No confirmed sale has ever been recorded.
One Hyde Park penthouse listing, 175 million pounds in 2025. Nick Candy brought his own 18,000 square foot duplex to market at the highest price ever asked for a UK flat. Again, an asking price rather than a result.
What the List Actually Tells You
Trophy apartments are now a Gulf story. In 2015 this ranking would have been almost entirely New York, London and Monaco. Today Dubai holds five of the ten positions and the regional record exceeds the entire European field except the two One Hyde Park sales. Knight Frank recorded 500 Dubai home sales above $10 million in 2025, worth more than $9 billion.
Size and price have decoupled. The Manhattan record-holder at $238 million covers 24,000 square feet. Dubai's record at $150 million covers 47,200. Manhattan buyers pay for scarcity of location; Gulf buyers, so far, have been paying for scale and specification. That gap is narrowing every year, as our ranking of the most expensive cities to buy a luxury home shows.
Branding is doing real work. Six of the ten entries carry a luxury brand on the door: Bugatti, Aman twice, Bulgari, and the hotel-adjacent Marsa Al Arab. Knight Frank projects more than 1,000 live branded schemes worldwide by 2030, and the most expensive branded residences now set the rate records in Dubai.
Asking prices are theatre. The two highest-profile numbers in penthouse history, Monaco's $335 million and Central Park Tower's $250 million, have never produced a recorded sale. Confirmed transactions and marketing campaigns are different data sets, and most published rankings conflate them.
Half the numbers in this category never happened. The ranking that matters is the one built from deeds.
Sources
- Knight Frank, The Wealth Report 2026 and Prime International Residential Index
- Dubai Land Department transaction records
- HM Land Registry, for One Hyde Park
- Gulf News, Khaleej Times and Bloomberg market reporting
To see what is available in the region now, browse current luxury apartments and penthouses for sale or read more in the Real Estate journal.
Prices reflect the best available public record at the time of publication. Currency conversions use rates prevailing at the date of each transaction. Off-plan sales are recorded at contract value.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most expensive penthouse ever sold?
The penthouse at 220 Central Park South in New York, bought by Ken Griffin for approximately $238 million in January 2019. It remains the highest confirmed price paid for an apartment anywhere in the world, at just under $10,000 per square foot across roughly 24,000 square feet.
What is the most expensive penthouse in Dubai?
The Sky Mansion penthouse at Bugatti Residences by Binghatti in Business Bay, which sold for AED 550 million, about $150 million, in 2025. It is also the Middle East record, and at 47,200 square feet it is the largest unit in the global top ten.
Is the Monaco Sky Penthouse the world's most expensive?
It was marketed at around $335 million, but no completed sale has ever been publicly recorded. Marketing prices and confirmed transactions are not comparable, which is why it is excluded from this ranking and listed as an honourable mention instead.
Which apartment has the highest price per square foot ever recorded?
Unit 16D at Mount Nicholson on Hong Kong's Peak, which sold in November 2021 at HK$140,800 per square foot, roughly $18,100, across just 4,544 square feet. In Dubai the record sits with Bulgari Resort and Residences at AED 13,543 per square foot.
Are penthouse prices still rising?
Prime residential prices across the 100 markets tracked by Knight Frank rose 3.2% in 2025, with the Middle East leading globally at 9.4%. Dubai prime values rose roughly 25% in 2025 and close to 200% over five years.
Why does Dubai hold half of the top ten?
Because every Dubai entry was struck since 2023. The city recorded 500 home sales above $10 million in 2025 worth more than $9 billion, and its branded towers on Jumeirah Bay Island, Palm Jumeirah and in Business Bay have produced the largest single-unit cheques in the market's history.
What is the most expensive apartment ever sold in London?
A duplex penthouse at One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge, which sold for 160 million pounds, about $237 million, in May 2014. It remains the highest price ever paid for a British home, and the same building holds the second-highest London sale too.
Why are asking prices excluded from this ranking?
Because the two most quoted numbers in penthouse history, Monaco's $335 million Tour Odeon Sky Penthouse and Central Park Tower's $250 million top unit, have never produced a recorded sale. Aman New York was marketed at $180 million in 2018 and eventually traded at $135 million, which shows how far the two figures can diverge.
Do branded penthouses sell for more?
Six of the top ten carry a luxury brand on the door. Branded inventory trades at an average 30% to 35% above comparable non-branded stock globally, and Knight Frank has recorded individual Dubai projects exceeding 100% against the wider market.
