It's hardly a secret that the wealthy of the world park money in London's real estate market. In fact, core luxury London neighbourhoods like Mayfair, Knightsbridge and Belgravia have become so expensive that foreign money largely has displaced the local elite.
One of the oddest real estate anomalies in London — and definitely one caused mostly by overseas money — is The Bishops Avenue, named in honour of Wealdheri, the Bishop of London in 704. The Bishops Avenue in the north London neighbourhood of East Finchley is more commonly called "Billionaire's Row" due to its ownership in large part by business magnates, oil tycoons, oligarchs, and more than the occasional criminal.
The Bishops Avenue certainly isn't a traditional tourist attraction, but if Los Angeles is the city of the rich and famous, it would not be at all out of place to describe London as the city of the rich and anonymous and travelgasm.com humbly suggests that The Bishops Avenue perhaps reflects this trait better than any other location in the city.
If you work in retail or real estate, and you walk up the East Finchley high street, which is to the left of the Art Deco Underground station designed by Charles Holden and L.H. Bucknell in 1939 (The Bishops Avenue is to the right), you will quickly notice that the neighbourhood is modest and mostly has chain stores targeting a mass market rather than the wealthy. The primary grocery store, for instance, is the discount chain Iceland, rather than a Waitrose or Marks & Spencer commonly found in more affluent areas in the UK. The high street does host The Old White Lion gastropub near The Bishops Avenue — which is a convenient stop for lunch — as well as the historic Phoenix Cinema — which is a very cool arthouse theatre — but it's otherwise mostly modest local and chain stores. Not only is there not a single Michelin-starred restaurant in the area but there also is a section of what appears to be council housing.
Although the lot sizes on The Bishops Avenue are huge for London, it is famous among a certain segment of the global wealthy largely due to the brilliant marketing of Glentree International, an estate agency who has spent the past 40 years building The Bishops Avenue into a brand that has been able to command whatever prices the international market will bear and that are well above the rest of the area.
Unlike a walk — or, more realistically, a tour bus ride — through the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to see the homes of the rich and famous, a walk down The Bishops Avenue to see the homes of the rich and anonymous is a bit surreal as the properties are a mix of attractive and well-kept homes, abandoned and derelict mansions that haven't been occupied for decades, empty lots full of weeds, construction sites, and increasingly, flats for those priced out of the luxury market in London's core. You may even spot a sign or two indicating that a property was repossessed due to failure to pay taxes or criminal activity. It's a curious experience.
The Bishops Avenue is about a mile long and requires a return walk back to the Underground to leave. The full walk is about two miles (3.2 kilometers) in total. We've mapped out the complete route below. Of course, you can turn around at any point to shorten the total walk.
How to Get Here: Take the Northern Line (Black, Zone 3) line to East Finchley Station. Turn right from the station to go to The Bishops Avenue. Turn left from the station to go to the high street.
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FAQs
'Bishops Avenue is an area that they're always developing because a lot of owners of the houses are overseas sellers, some of them don't even come back to the UK so the houses get very dated and start falling apart and then they end up selling them, one estate agent said.
What is the Billionaires Row in London? ›
The Billionaires' Row - The Bishops Avenue Houses & Property
The Bishops Avenue, London N2, or the Billionaire homes in the UK, connects the north side of Hampstead Heath at Kenwood (Hampstead Lane), Hampstead to East Finchley and is on the boundary of the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey.
What celebrities live on Bishops Avenue? ›
Residents. Owners of houses on the street include the Sultan of Brunei and members of the House of Bolkiah, publisher and newspaper magnate Richard Desmond, art collector and philanthropist Poju Zabludowicz, industrialist Lakshmi Mittal, and property tycoon Andreas Panayiotou.
Can you walk down the Bishops Avenue? ›
The Bishops Avenue is about a mile long and requires a return walk back to the Underground to leave. The full walk is about two miles (3.2 kilometers) in total. We've mapped out the complete route below. Of course, you can turn around at any point to shorten the total walk.
Where do the billionaires live in London? ›
Places like Westminster, Chelsea, and Knightsbridge have some of the country's most expensive homes, with many residents who are celebrities or hold high office. Britannica. "London."
Who owns the largest abandoned mansion in America? ›
| Lynnewood Hall |
|---|
| Completed | 1899 |
| Cost | $8 million (equivalent to $293 million in 2023) |
| Client | Peter A. B. Widener |
| Owner | Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation (purchased from First Korean Church of New York in 2023) |
16 more rowsOver the years, owners on the avenue have included the film star Gracie Fields, who lived on the site of The Towers, the former newspaper and p*rnography publisher Richard Desmond, a Nigerian oil billionaire and a Kazakh oligarch. Pop stars such as Justin Bieber have rented mansions.
Who lives on billionaires row London Kensington? ›
It is the residence of many ambassadors, including those of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and India. Famous residents included Israeli billionaire Noam Gottesman and Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal. Princess Haya of Jordan resides in a home in Kensington Palace Gardens.
Who actually lives on billionaires row? ›
15 Central Park West (CPW), two blocks east, contains units that have been purchased by billionaires Sara Blakely, Lloyd Blankfein, Omid Kordestani, Daniel Loeb, Daniel Och, Eyal Ofer, Pan Shiyi, Sandy Weill, Jerry Yang and Zhang Xin.
What is the most expensive street in London? ›
Yep, those ones. According to the latest data from Rightmove, it's none other than Buckingham Gate in Westminster taking the crown as the UK's priciest street.
This $300 Million London Mansion Is Now the World's Most Expensive Home for Sale. London's most expensive home is up for sale, according to Quartz. Set on four private acres in Regent Park, one of the city's eight royal parks, the home's reported asking price is about $300 million, or £250 million.
Who lived in Bishops Avenue? ›
The Bishops Avenue — also known as "Billionaires Row" — is a street of 66 mansions worth a combined $620 million. Its houses are vast, with colorful histories: homes for swindlers, exotic royals, industrial tycoons, and, briefly, Justin Bieber. Some are bright and gleaming, bustling palaces for celebrities and the 1%.
Who owns the abandoned mansion in Pennsylvania? ›
Last June, though, the 127-year-old mansion was purchased for a bit over $9 million by the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation which plans to restore the stunning 32-bedroom, 28-bathroom property to its former glory, Business insider recently reported.
Why was the Sanger mansion abandoned? ›
However, construction was never fully completed and after illness, divorce, and bankruptcy crippled the couple, construction was halted by the mid-1980s.
Where is the billionaires row in San Francisco? ›
Billionaire's Row stretches (roughly) from Lyon Street — at the top of the Lyon Street steps (which are an awesome stairway stroll) — to Divisadero Street on Broadway Ave. If that's too confusing, San Francisco is a city famous for 7 hills: Billionaire's Row is at the top of one of them.
Why were the 5th Avenue mansions demolished? ›
The home was sold in 1926 and demolished to make way for the Bergdorf Goodman department store. David H. King, Jr.
