The richest man in Ukraine, billionaire steel baron Rinat Akhmetov, has set a price record for a British residence, buying a two-floor apartment for $211.6 million.

The oligarch, the son of a coal miner, will also spend reportedly spend close to $100 million fitting out the property in the One Hyde Park development in Knightsbridge, the Sun reported.

A spokesman for Akhmetov's holding company, System Capital Management — a Ukrainian conglomerate involved in mining, retail, financial services and even soccer —  confirmed the purchase, according to the Independent.

Even as millions of Ukrainians live life on the poverty line, Akhmetov's fortune continues to rise. Forbes in 2010 estimated his worth at $16 billion, making him the 39th richest person in the world – above financier George Soros, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and the Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich.

As the owner of a business dealing in coal, ore-mining and steel, his net worth is likely to have increased further over the past year on the back of the commodities boom.

He is a staunch supporter of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and the most successful businessman to have emerged from the chaos of the post-Soviet grab for wealth, according to the Telegraph.

It is thought only half of the 80 homes in One Hyde Park have been sold.