Posh Pad 8: Hala Ranch

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Prince Bandar (shown on NBC's Meet the Press in 2004), sold the guest house to his Aspen estate for more than 
$36 million.

A Saudi Arabian prince boasts one of the most expensive homes in the United States. Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, a former Saudi ambassador to the U.S., owns the 95-acre Hala Ranch (Hala means "welcome" in Arabic), located in Aspen, Colo. The estate seems fit for Abdulaziz, who's been called an "Arab Gatsby" [source: BBC]. The property is located in the Starwood Ranch community. It's replete with 15 bedrooms and 27 bathrooms tucked within 56,000 square feet of living space -- that's larger than the White House [source: CNN Money].

The ranch features heated stables, an indoor pool, a tennis court, private ski trails, a gas station, car wash and sewage treatment plant. The master bedroom even has its own salon [source: Denver Post]. In 2006, the prince put the property on the market with an asking price of $135 million [source: Forbes]. In December 2007, he sold just the 14,395-square-foot guesthouse of his estate for $36.5 million, the highest price ever paid in for a single-family home in Aspen [source: Aspen Times].

The next home isn't just opulent -- it's got a pretty spooky history.