The Big Apple’s Biggest Price!

The Big Apple’s Biggest Price!

The Big Apple's Biggest Price!

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Any billionaire looking for a prime New York residence and can loosen up enough cash to pay outright the $125 million price tag for the Pierre Penthouse, will have acquired one of the most lavish and opulent landmark apartments in the world. It is currently the most expensive listing in New York City. It’s also in a building that, if walls could talk, would tell of a fabulous and intriguing past.

The Pierre Hotel was built in 1930 for $15 million through a joint venture of financiers including E. F. Hutton, Walter Chrysler, Otto Kahn and restaurateur Charles Pierre, for whom the hotel was named. The hotel went into bankruptcy in 1932 during the Depression. In 1938, J. Paul Getty purchased the building for about $2.5 million and turned a number of the hotel suites into co-op apartments. The luxury hotel is owned and managed by Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces of India, which was formed in 1903. Today this group owns and operates 76 hotels, 7 palaces, 6 private islands and 12 resorts and spas, spanning 52 destinations in 12 countries across 5 continents and employs over 13,000 people.

The Pierre has quite an interesting past as well as present. In 1972, it was the scene of one of the most famous hotel robberies in history. The crime cleverly took place after New Years Eve celebrations when jewels worn that evening were placed in the hotel’s safe deposit boxes prior to being returned to the safety of their respective banks after New Year’s Day. The four robbers held the hotel guards at gunpoint and it took two hours to get most of the boxes opened. The robbers netted $11 million in goods. Three of the men were eventually arrested and sent to Attica. The fourth fled to Mexico and was never found.

Some of the hotel’s notable residents have included Elizabeth Taylor, Yves Saint-Laurent, Harrods Department Store owner Mohamed al-Fayed, and Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom.

The over-the-top tri-level penthouse has been the backdrop for many scenes in both film and television such as Scent of a Woman, Meet Joe Black, The Sopranos, Mad Men, Real Housewives of New York City, and CSI:NY.

Most recently owned by Martin Zweig, a stock market analyst best known for his prediction of the 1987 stock market crash, the penthouse has been put on the market since his death in February. Zweig bought the home in 1999 for $21.5 million, which also set a price record that year. The penthouse occupies the top three floors under the hotel’s distinctive sweeping copper roof. These top floors were modeled after Mansart’s Royal Chapel at Versailles. Exceptional features include the living room which was originally the grand ballroom of the Pierre with 23’ ceilings, five fireplaces throughout (including the gym) designed in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries and the only wood burning fireplaces in the building. There are four terraces with stunning views of Central Park, city skyline, Hudson river and Atlantic Ocean. Included are 5 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, staff room off the kitchen, Swedish sauna, private elevator, 3 kitchenettes and main kitchen, private gym, paneled library, a wine cellar and a stunning black Belgian marble staircase in the grand foyer.

Prospective buyers must pass a stringent co-op board interview and be able to meet the building requirement of an all-cash purchase. The monthly maintenance fee is $47,000 which includes electricity and two housekeeping staff. Priced at $125 million.

Source: www.sothebyshomes.com