Inside Billionaire Jeff Greene's Over-The-Top $195 Million Beverly Hills Fixer Upper

CURRENT DIGS have you feeling a little squeezed? For just $195 million this modest little fixer-upper could be yours: Palazzo di Amore, real estate investor Jeff Greene's Beverly Hills pied-à-terre, hit the market in November.

Greene, whose net worth is $3 billion, bought the property out of receivership for $35 million in 2007, then poured more than $50 million into new construction and refinements over the next seven-plus years. The main living space is 35,000 square feet; an additional 15,000 are filled with an entertainment complex that includes a ballroom with a DJ booth, revolving dance floor and 10,000-crystal chandelier.

It boasts sweeping views of L.A. and has its own vineyard and 20,000-plus-bottle wine storage. Why is Greene selling? Turns out he never really moved in--he has a full-time life in Florida with his family and a smaller pad in Malibu he uses when he's on the left coast. "I'm a control freak; that's why these projects aren't good for me," he says. "It's just too many years, too long. But hopefully the buyer will come along who appreciates the fruits of our labor."

Greene's asking price seems dreamier than the house itself--though at this extreme end of the market, the whim of an Arab sheikh or Russian oligarch dictates price as much as rationality. The real number to beat: the California-record $117.5 million Masayoshi Son paid for a Woodside spread in November 2012.

Forbes recently toured the palatial home--which is exclusively listed by Joyce Rey and Stacy Gottula, both of Coldwell Banker Previews International--and spoke with Greene about the special touches he insisted upon for his residential magnum opus. A few of the highlights:

• Pool : The infinity-pool deck is covered in stone that Greene and his wife picked on a trip to Israel. It has hardly been used other than by members of the Saudi royal family, who have periodically paid to stay in the palazzo at the rate of $300,000 a month.

• Bar: The metal replica $1 bill was made of nails and wire silver by Argentinian art collective Mondongo. The piece was to be delivered with seven stuffed cats, which never arrived; they were intended to be placed around the bill. "It was supposed to [convey] contempt for greediness," Greene says. "Now it looks like the opposite."

• Reflecting pool: The 128-foot-long reflecting pool, with fountains cascading its entire length, leads the way to a pergola at the edge of the property, the site of Greene's 2007 wedding to Mei Sze Chan, for which Mike Tyson was best man.

• Turkish Bath: The blue-and-white tiles came from Morocco and Turkey by way of Southeast Asia, where they were assembled before being shipped to Greene in L.A. The bath's foyer features hand-painted walls and ceiling (each painted in Morocco and shipped in hundreds of pieces that had to be assembled like a puzzle), a suspended Turkish lamp and a working fireplace. "It feels great after a tough tennis match," Greene says of the bath.

• Outdoor Dining: The covered portico overlooking the reflecting pool makes the space feel like a safari lodge when the sheer curtains are drawn for an alfresco meal. Greene once hosted a lunch for former British prime minister Tony Blair. Attendees included Owen Wilson, Alex Rodriguez and Larry Gagosian.