India has been on a roll of late, growing almost as fast as China. With such outsized growth comes outsized riches — and the excesses that ensue. Forbes reports that when the Ambani residence in Mumbai is finished in January, completing a four-year process, it will be 550 feet high with 4,00,000 square feet of interior space.

“Like many families with the means to do so, the Ambanis wanted to build a custom home. They consulted with architecture firms Perkins + Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates, the designers behind the Mandarin Oriental, based in Dallas and Los Angeles, respectively,” the report said. “Plans were then drawn up for what will be the world’s largest and most expensive home: a 27-story skyscraper in downtown Mumbai with a cost nearing 2 billion dollars.”

According to Forbes, Mukesh, along with his wife Nita Ambani and three children, currently live in a 22-story Mumbai tower…

While a hotel or condominium has a common layout, replicated on every floor, and uses the same materials throughout the building, the Ambanis’ home has no two alike in either plans or materials used…”At the request of Nita Ambani, say the designers, if a metal, wood or crystal is part of the ninth-floor design, it shouldn’t be used on the eleventh floor, for example. The idea is to blend styles and architectural elements so spaces give the feel of consistency, but without repetition,” it said.

Ah, the new gilded age. No doubt it will last forever. (How do you say “market top” in Hindi?)

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