French Billionaire Pays $45M for Historic Versailles Estate

Telecommunications mogul Xavier Niel is the next to lay claim to the title of “King of Versailles.”

The billionaire paid $44.8 million for Pavillon de Musique du Barry, a historic residence in Louveciennes, outside of Versailles. The neoclassical estate is so named for Louis XV’s final mistress, for whom the home was built.

The deal closed in July, according to Bloomberg, but hasn’t been reported. Owners have included perfume maker Francois Coty, Treca luxury bedmaker Victor Moritz and a foundation tied to the estate of furniture maker Julienne Dumeste, which was the seller in this deal.

The home was on the market for six years, last asking for approximately $51.2 million. The home includes a marble-clad hall, rows of gardens and bedrooms with sightlines of the Eiffel Tower.

The property dates back more than 250 years, when it was constructed for Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry. It wasn’t du Barry’s primary residence, but instead served as a place to hold private concerts and lavish dinners.

That came to an end during the Reign of Terror portion of the French Revolution, when du Barry met her fate at the guillotine.

In recent years, it’s been a wedding venue. It also played host to a Christian Dior Couture fashion campaign; Delphine Arnault, daughter of Bernard and chief executive officer of Dior, is partnered with Niel.

Niel amassed his fortune by founding Illiad, a European telecommunications company. He’s also invested in startups and real estate companies, becoming a shareholder of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE.

He’s keen on France’s historic properties, including the Hotel Lambert that he bought for more than €200 million in 2022; despite the name, the property is a townhouse and sold in one of the largest private property transactions in France’s history.

Niel’s net worth is approximately $13.5 billion, according to Bloomberg.

— Holden Walter-Warner