Adela Muresan 
You might think that to enjoy the status boost of living next door to someone on the Forbes 500 list, you need to boast the bank account of an oil tycoon or a college drop-out tech genius. And, 9 cases out of 10, you would be right. Yet in the spirit of New York’s “something for everyone”, once in a blue moon you come across that great home in the outrageously perfect location with a price tag that is just too good to be true. Yahtzee!
In Manhattan, a cool, upscale neighborhood means that the rich must have already claimed a little part of it as their own. We therefore looked around some of the most desirable townhouses and buildings that New York billionaires call home to try and find how deep your pockets need to be for you to call yourself a “neighbor of the super-rich”. And while this title does not come cheap, a few of these properties’ asking prices won’t make that many Manhattanites wince.
See if you can find your financial role model below, and maybe now might be the right time to invest in a new place next door to them. As they say – fake it ’till you make it!
Co-ops Are for Everyone…
Julian Robertson Jr., the hedge fund wiz, got a co-op unit in the Hampshire House at 150 Central Park South for $3.9M, back in 1994. The market may have risen in the meantime, but you can currently buy a unit in that same building for far less – $589,000 for unit #1009, for example. Another one went for $385,000 earlier this year, half of what the average local pays for a co-op in Manhattan these days.
Built in 1930, the legendary co-op building at 740 Park Avenue houses more than one ultra-rich resident. If sharing a lobby with the likes of David Koch, Stephen Schwarzman (of Blackstone Group) and Israel Englander sparks your interest (and maybe a business proposition), there’s presently a unit on the market for just under $4M; pretty pricey, but no match for the $30M+ entrance fee to the building that two of these super-rich cohabitants paid in recent years.
This one was listed on the market just last month, and since no other units were sold in the past 24 months, it seems that this opportunity doesn’t come about too often.
Townhouses, Not So Much
Margaretta Taylor is one of three heirs to the Cox Enterprises media conglomerate. She owns a townhouse in Sutton Square, just a few steps away from 13 Sutton Place, which sold for $7.8M in 2014, significantly less than the $10M Margaretta Taylor paid for her home back in 2001.
Founder and CEO of the WeWork communal work space chain, Adam Neumann bought a townhouse at 41 West 11th Street in 2013 for more than $10M. Another townhouse close by, at 45 West 12th Street sold in 2014 for close to $5M, a bargain considering last quarter the average single family house in Manhattan went for over $7.6M.
For those with deeper pockets, but who still shy away from an 8-digit price tag, 245 Waverly Place is currently listed for $8.75M, just one block away from Neumann’s abode.
Prices High and Low in One Famous Condo
The 51-story tower at 23 East 22nd Street (One Madison Park) is just one of the buildings where Rupert Murdoch owns property. He bought a unit for no less than $57.3M in 2014 and promptly put it back on the market in 2015 for $72M; no definitive bid has been made yet on the triplex penthouse.
In the same building, the least expensive unit sold in the past 2 years was #7B, which closed at little over $1.6M in 2015. At the time of this article, the cheapest listing at One Madison Park is a $4.7M 2-bedroom, 2-baths high floor corner condo.
Find more famous billionaires and available properties around their residence of choice in the table below:
| Billionaire | Address | Transaction | Property Type | The Least Expensive Sale in the Building or Area in the Last 2 Years |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Price | Address | Year | Price | |||
| Michael Bloomberg | 17 East 79th Street | 1986 | $3.5M | Townhouse | 22 East 78 Street | 2015 | $12.6M |
| Rupert Murdoch | 278 West 11th Street | 2014 | $25M | Townhouse | 54 Charles Street | 2014 | $10.75M |
| 23 East 22 Street | 2014 | $57.3M | Condo | 23 East 22 Street #7B | 2015 | $1.6M |
|
| Sean Parker | 40 West 10th Street | 2011 | $20M | Townhouse | 60 West 11 Street | 2014 | $11.5M |
| Leon Black | 19 East 70th Street | 2014 | $50.3M | Townhouse | 116 East 70 Street | 2014 | $31M |
| Margaretta Taylor | 2 Sutton Square | 2001 | $10M | Townhouse | 13 Sutton Place | 2014 | $7.8M |
| Jerry Speyer | 176 East 72nd Street | 1997 | $3.0M | Townhouse | 235 East 72 Street | 2016 | $10.1M |
| John Paulson | 9 East 86th Street | 2004 | $14.7M | Townhouse | 7 East 84 Street | 2016 | $27M |
| Adam Neumann | 41 West 11th Street | 2013 | $10.5M | Townhouse | 45 West 12 Street | 2014 | $4.98M |
| Glenn Dubin | 1040 Fifth Avenue | 2006 | $32.0M | Co-op | 1040-1044 5 Avenue #14A | 2015 | $30M |
| Henry Kravis | 625 Park Avenue | 1994 | $15M | Co-op | 623-625 Park Avenue #6A | 2016 | $13M |
| Peter Peterson | 810 Fifth Avenue | 2007 | $37.8M | Co-op | 810-811 5 Avenue #6FL | 2014 | $19M |
| Julian Robertson Jr. | 150 Central Park South | 1994 | $3.9M | Co-op | 150 Central Park S #411 | 2016 | $385K |
| David Koch | 740 Park Avenue | 2004 | $18M | Co-op | - | - | - |
| Stephen Schwarzman | 740 Park Avenue | 2001 | $30M | Co-op | - | - | - |
| Israel Englander | 740 Park Avenue | 2014 | $71.3M | Co-op | - | - | - |
| Billionaire | Address | Transaction | Property Type | The Least Expensive Listing in the Building or Area | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Buying Price | Address | Asking Price | |||
| Michael Bloomberg | 17 East 79th Street | 1986 | $3.5M | Townhouse | 259 East 78 Street | $4,750,000 |
| Rupert Murdoch | 278 West 11th Street | 2014 | $25M | Townhouse | 245 Waverly Place | $8,750,000 |
| 23 East 22 Street | 2014 | $57.3M | Condo | 23 East 22nd Street | $4,700,000 |
|
| Sean Parker | 40 West 10th Street | 2011 | $20M | Townhouse | 245 Waverly Place | $8,750,000 |
| Leon Black | 19 East 70th Street | 2014 | $50.3M | Townhouse | 151 East 74th Street | $11,225,000 |
| Margaretta Taylor | 2 Sutton Square | 2001 | $10M | Townhouse | 213 East 61 Street | $8,750,000 |
| Jerry Speyer | 176 East 72nd Street | 1997 | $3M | Townhouse | 230 East 68th Street | $8,150,000 |
| John Paulson | 9 East 86th Street | 2004 | $14.7M | Townhouse | 1145 Park Avenue | $8,999,000 |
| Adam Neumann | 41 West 11th Street | 2013 | $10.5M | Townhouse | 245 Waverly Place | $8,750,000 |
| Glenn Dubin | 1040 Fifth Avenue | 2006 | $32M | Coop | - | - |
| Henry Kravis | 625 Park Avenue | 1994 | $15M | Coop | - | - |
| Peter Peterson | 810 Fifth Avenue | 2007 | $37.8M | Coop | - | - |
| Julian Robertson Jr. | 150 Central Park South | 1994 | $3.9M | Coop | 150 Central Park South #1009 | $589,000 |
| David Koch | 740 Park Avenue | 2004 | $18M | Coop | 740 Park Avenue #1C | $3,995,000 |
| Stephen Schwarzman | 740 Park Avenue | 2001 | $30M | Coop | 740 Park Avenue #1C | $3,995,000 |
| Israel Englander | 740 Park Avenue | 2014 | $71.3M | Coop | 740 Park Avenue #1C | $3,995,000 |
Methodology:
The least expensive sales were determined considering transactions for similar properties over the last 24 months (excepting 810 5th Avenue, where the last sale was registered in February 2014): units from the same building for co-op and condo units, and sales within a range of 2 blocks for townhouses.
The least expensive for sale listings were determined from among listings in the same building for co-ops and condos, and within a range of 5 blocks for townhouses.
All townhouses considered for this list are single family homes (building class A).
