A Russian billionaire has set a new record for the purchase of a condo in New York City, paying a staggering $88 million for the apartment, the most expensive property transaction ever carried out in the city, according to Forbes.
Dmitriy Rybolovlev reportedly bought the 6,744 sq. ft. apartment for his daughter, Miss Ekaterina Rybolovleva, 22, who is currently studying in New York City.
The previous owner of the apartment was Sandy Weill, the ex-Citigroup chairman, who promised at the time he listed the condo that he would donate all proceeds from the sale to charity. It’s not yet known if Mr. Weill has lived up to his promise.
Speaking to Forbes, Jonathan Miller of the Miller Samuel real estate appraiser said that the sale smashed the previous record in New York for a single property transaction. The price of the apartment works out to be around $13,000 a square foot, more than double the original $6,400 per square foot that Sandy Weill paid for the property when he first bought it.
The condo, which is located at 15 Central Park West, Manhattan, boasts ten rooms in total, four of them bedrooms, two wood burner fireplaces and a wrap-around terrace that extends for more than 2,000 square feet.
According to Forbes, the previous record for a single sale in New York was a $53 million for a townhouse in the city, a deal which took place before the recession.
Now that's how a ruskie billionaire is helping the american economy.