How Much Would It Cost To Buy The Mansion From The Great Gatsby?

"The Great Gatsby" is perhaps American literature's most powerful critique of a society built on materialistic desire and excess. When creating his 2013 film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, director Baz Luhrmann was faced with the task of realizing Jay Gatsby's endlessly glamorous, garishly extravagant world, at the heart of which was the mysterious millionaire's mansion. Luhrmann's film succeeded in capturing the extravagance of "The Great Gatsby" like never before on film, throwing audiences into the heart of Gatsby's parties and flamboyant lifestyle in a sensory experience that was at once dazzling and dizzying.

If you're watching Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" and don't care that Leonardo DiCaprio's Jay Gatsby is ultimately left unfulfilled by his unimaginable wealth, forever yearning for an unobtainable dream, nor are you moved by the film's depiction of the corrupting influence of material pursuits, nor do you even mind the possibility of ending up the victim of your ex-girlfriend's new husband's mistress's husband's misdirected rage, then you might fancy a mansion like Gatsby's. You might even be wondering how much Gatsby's New York palace would set you back.

Well, unfortunately, the mansion seen in "The Great Gatsby" is — much like the American Dream — all an illusion. Unlike the American Dream, though, this illusion was created by skilled set designers who took their inspiration from a real-life mansion in Long Island. That property is now on the market for $85 million, which is probably enough to make even Dr. T. J. Eckleburg's eyes water.

In Fitzgerald's novel and Luhrmann's movie, Gatsby bought his West Egg mansion to attract the attention of his past love, Daisy Buchanan, played to perfection by Carey Mulligan in the movie. As well as hosting lavish parties just across the bay from Daisy's East Egg mansion, Gatsby hoped the mansion would be grand enough a status symbol to put him on equal footing with the "old money" Buchanans — Daisy and her husband Tom, played by Joel Edgerton. The mansion, like many of Gatsby's material possessions, was a reflection of his boundless ambition. Thus, any sense of the discerning elegance found in the Buchanans' East Egg home was lost in favor of gaudy extravagance.

The real "Great Gatsby" mansion now for sale on Pond Road in Long Island — just a few streets away from the aptly named Gatsby Lane — would certainly live up to Gatsby's lofty expectations. Along with two guest houses in its grounds, the property comes with Japanese-English gardens, koi ponds, a tennis court, a lazy river, a bowling alley, an electronic casino, multiple wine cellars and a tasting room, a shooting range, a home hair salon, a two-level garage that could fit Gatsby's "monstrous" Rolls Royce nine times over, and a lazy river. There's also a private dock, perfect for staring longingly across the bay at the alluring green light, as well as two swimming pools — just remember to use them before the summer is up.