NewChina’s richest man Wang Jianlin buys mansion on London’s billionaires’ row

China’s richest man, property tycoon Wang Jianlin, has bought a luxury mansion in London in a £80 million (HK$923 million) deal, according to British media.

Citing property market sources, the Evening Standard reported on Friday that Wang, 61, “took a long lease from the Crown Estate on the residence at 15A Kensington Palace Gardens”.

The report said the road was next to Kensington Palace, home to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and was considered among the most secure in the capital, with “an around-the-clock armed police presence at both ends”.

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The neighbourhood was also home to Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich and the Norwegian embassy, the report said.

The 20,000 sq ft home had 10 bedrooms and was previously occupied by Ukraine-born businessman Leonid Blavatnik, it said.

It was also occupied by the Nigerian High Commission in the sixties and seventies, the report said.

Wang, the chairman of Dalian Wanda, topped Forbes’ mainland rich list this year with his personal wealth ballooning nearly US$17 billion – equivalent to the GDP of Iceland.