Très Sheikh

Dropping $111 million on a Paris pied-à-terre may seem excessive to some, but not to Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. The Emir of Qatar has purchased one of France’s most mythic private homes, the Hôtel Lambert. Designed by Louis Le Vau in 1640, the property, which sits at the tip of the Ile Saint-Louis, had been the Paris residence of Baron Guy de Rothschild, who died earlier this year, and his late second wife, society queen Marie-Hélène, since 1975. Word is the Emir himself won’t be hosting any soirées at his new house just yet: First he plans a huge overhaul of the building.

Guy Marineau/Fairchild Archive