Empty megamansions of the super rich

If you dropped millions on a luxurious mansion you would probably never want to leave. But for the super-rich homeowner many times these mansions can be their third, fourth or even tenth home, leaving a surprising number of custom-designed palaces with absolutely no one home.

Click ahead to see some amazing mansions that are usually vacant.

—By CNBC's Jennifer Schlesinger
Posted 20 March 2015
Updated 24 March 2015

CNBC unlocks the mansion gates and scores you the ultimate VIP access to an exclusive world filled with unimaginable extravagance and enormous fortunes. "Secret Lives of the Super Rich" premiers on Tuesday, March 24 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

If you're a big fan of Thomas Jefferson, you can travel to Virginia, pay $20 and tour Monticello, the home Jefferson built. However, if you're super rich, you can spend millions to build your own version, even if you never plan to spend the night.

Friendly's Ice Cream co-founder Prestley Blake spent $7.5 million to painstakingly build his own Monticello in Somers, Conn. But he only used it once to throw a party for his 100th birthday.

Blake invested the money even though he knew he'd never recoup what he spent on his presidential party pad. The mansion is on the market for $6.5 million, but only to the right person. The owner is so picky, he wants to interview all potential buyers.

An apartment may not seem like a palace, but this one is reportedly owned by a Saudi prince who's never home.

Located on Manhattan's Upper West Side, this 10,500-square-foot apartment was created by merging six separate units on three floors. The combined triplex includes four bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. And almost every one of those rooms has a view of the Hudson River.

If you were to buy it, you might never need to go to the spa again. Instead, the apartment has its own massage and treatment room, a steam room and a pedicure bath. Other luxurious perks include two enormous saltwater aquariums, a sushi bar, a chef's kitchen and a vented cigar room.

If you're worried about security, you're covered. The apartment contains three panic rooms.

Despite the perks, the owner reportedly rarely stays here, and it's on the market for $48.5 million.

Can $49 million buy you paradise in the Garden State?

This 30,000-square-foot home is located on a six-acre lot in one of the wealthiest ZIP codes in America, Alpine, New Jersey. It sits uninhabited as its owner and his wife enjoy warmer climates.

Inside the mansion are 11 bedrooms, 19 bathrooms, a movie theater, a sports bar overlooking a basketball court, and a grand ballroom trimmed in 18-karat gold.

Security at the mansion is top notch, including two-foot thick walls and 29 cameras that can be monitored from anywhere in the world. A walk-in vault secures the owner's valuables and the wine cellar is protected with biometric authentication.

To own the Stone Mansion, you need to be super rich. The tax bill alone is almost $300,000 a year. And while it is off the market now, it was previously listed for $49 million.

Liongate has been an empty Los Angeles mansion with 11 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, a large pool and a bit of super-rich mystery. The home's wealthy owner put it up for sale before ever moving in and the listing agent was under strict orders not to reveal the foreign millionaire's name. In late March, it was been sold to another mystery buyer.

The mansion is a remake of an original 1930s home that occupied the same lot, made much larger. The megahome's luxurious accents include 22-karat gold hardware in the bathrooms and a Baccarat chandelier in the entrance way.

But the its biggest mystery is the location of a very-well hidden panic room. CNBC's "Secret Lives of the Super Rich" shot video on every floor of the home, and never spotted any sign of the secret room.

It's too soon to say what Liongate's new buyer will do with the property. But the buyer appears to have gotten a good deal. The property was listed at $65 million, but it was purchased for $46 million.

This vacant Los Angeles-area mansion is so secretive, representatives of the owner asked CNBC to not reveal its exact location.

The home is actually a mega-complex boasting five buildings, 28 bedrooms, 36 bathrooms, and even an orchard for really fresh fruit.

Some of its furnishings are truly one-of-a-kind. The carpet in the master suite was copyrighted so no one else can have the same one.

The house costs $5 million a year to maintain—a fact that's even more shocking given that the owner is only in residence once or twice a year.

While not for sale, real estate agents believe the mansion could be purchased for the right price. However, the owner is said to have rejected an offer of $100 million.

Le Palais Royal is the most expensive home in the state of Florida and its owner has no plans to ever live in it.

The house has been under construction for nine years, but with construction scheduled to be completed in a year, the owner has decided he no longer wants to call the palace his home, so now it's up for sale, with an asking price of $139 million.

When finished, the Sunshine State's ultimate home will include: 60,000 square feet, 11 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms and lots of gold. The kitchen will be mahogany and the ultimate first impression—a 23-karat gold leaf entrance gate.

The front doors were handmade in Germany, and cost more than a half million dollars and took over a year to build. The $2 million dollar marble staircase that was made in Italy will also be adorned in gold. The owner's also building the first in-home IMAX theater.

Le Palais Royal sits on 4.4 acres on Millionaire's Mile in Hillsboro Beach, Florida. Included in the acreage is 465 feet of beachfront and a 492-foot private dock.

The Palazzo di Amore is a vacant megamansion perched over Beverly Hills, Calif. It was built with seemingly every luxury in mind by a famed developer who's built some of the most lavish hotels in the world and a handful of mansions.

The house includes special details such as a brand new Bavarian walnut hardwood floor that was hand sanded by artisans to look antique, and a Moroccan room specially built by royal artisans with the permission of the King of Morocco.

In addition, the house boasts 12 bedrooms, 22 bathrooms, and a 15,000-square-foot entertainment complex with a 50-seat movie theater and a party space for more than 1,000 guests that includes a spinning dance floor.

For the ultimate wine connoisseur, Palazzo di Amore comes with a 12-acre vineyard that produces as many as 500 cases of a private label wine.

Despite the perks, the owner has not lived in the $195 million megamansion for eight years.