Eliza Theiss Key Takeaways:
- The highest residential property tax bill issued in New York City this last tax season reached $984,000, paid by the former Emir of Qatar.
- NYC’s top 10 property tax bills range from $450,000 to nearly $1 million — well above the national median sale price.
- Homes include historic townhouses, multi-floor penthouses, newly built mega mansions and even the most expensive home to ever sell in the U.S.
- These annual tax bills could easily pay for homes in various NYC neighborhoods, from Bedford-Stuyvesant to the Financial District, highlighting the market’s extremes.
- All 10 properties were bought through LLCs, offshore trusts and corporate entities.
Even in a city of jaw-dropping real estate deals closing every other week, the annual property tax bills incurred by the most luxurious residences in NYC can still command attention. Not only do they offer a glimpse into the substantial but often-contentious contributions to the city’s coffers, but they also shed light on the lengths owners will go to shield their identities.
To that end, the top 10 highest property tax bills in NYC range from just under $450,000 to nearly $1 million to comfortably surpass the national median sale price of $419,000.
These taxes are charged on homes that range from landmark buildings and restored historic structures to sleek, expansive condos that sprawl across four stories; veritable mega-mansions; and even one of the largest private residences in the country at #1, not to mention the most expensive home ever sold in the U.S. In fact, the individual annual tax bills for these homes could buy the average home in NYC neighborhoods like Clinton Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Washington Heights or even the Financial District.
Among the owners paying the city’s highest residential property taxes are hedge fund mogul Ken Griffin; investor Bill Ackman; the former Emir of Qatar; the Crown Prince and Princess of Greece; and even the Deputy Secretary of Defense. In other cases, owners remain hidden behind anonymous corporate entities or even international trusts that move headquarters every few years, keeping ownership details out of the public eye.
Keep reading to learn more about the top 10 highest taxpayers in NYC.
10) 36 East 67th Street
Property Taxes Paid: $449,264
Owner: Gisela & Stephen Feinberg
Stephen Feinberg’s mansion at 36 E. 67th St. is a prime example of Manhattan’s secretive ultra-luxury real estate market. The co-founder and former CEO of Cerberus Capital Management and current Deputy Secretary of Defense and his wife, Gisela, picked up the 16,235-square-foot mansion in 2003 for $19.75 million. They then invested $15 million into upgrades and renovations. Prior to the Feinbergs’ ownership, the property served as the Egyptian mission.
Notably, the former Thompson mansion already enjoys enhanced privacy as a freestanding property in a neighborhood dominated by rowhouses — an increasingly rare commodity even for the city’s wealthiest residents. Overall, the property is estimated to be worth around $40 million today, and its latest tax bill would be enough to pay for an average home in Coney Island.
9) 154 East 78th Street
Property Taxes Paid: $467,543
Owner: Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece & Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece
Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece have had a long, complex history with 154 E. 78th St., a five-story, Georgian townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Purchased in 2000 for $7.5 million, the home marked the royals’ return to New York from London, but their transatlantic lifestyle soon took them back overseas. When they returned in 2017, the more-than-12,000-square-foot residence underwent a major renovation.
The Crown Princess reportedly lived at the address with her parents — billionaire Robert Warren Miller and Clara Pesantes Becerra — in the early ‘90s, before her marriage to Crown Prince Pavlos, and considered the purchase of the townhouse a return home. The royals purchased the home from Robert Fribourg of the Continental Grain Company. The home is now valued at $39 million and its annual property taxes could easily buy a home over in Woodside.
8) 157 West 57th Street PH 75
Property Taxes Paid: $477,311
Owner: Bill Ackman
One of two Central Park South properties in our top 10 highest property tax bills, the 2015 purchase of PH 75 in the ultra-luxury One57 skyscraper made history as one of the most expensive residential sales ever in NYC’s luxury real estate market after fetching $91.5 million. Encompassing two floors and 13,554 square feet, the penthouse duplex includes six bedrooms, six bathrooms, and sweeping views of Central Park and the city skyline.
One57, developed by Extell, was the first ultra-luxury condominium tower on 57th Street’s Billionaires’ Row and still ranks as one of NYC’s top best-selling buildings of all time. Furthermore, it was also home to another record-breaking sale at the time: The $100.5-million acquisition of PH #90 by CEO and Chairman of Dell Technologies, Michael Dell. Ackman’s latest property tax bill on the opulent property is just shy of the median sale price in Bay Terrace.
7) 15 East 81st Street
Property Taxes Paid: $479,788
Owner: Kutayba Alghanim
Encompassing 16,233 square feet across four stories, 15 E. 81st St. is officially owned by a corporation. However, Kuwaiti billionaire business mogul Kutayba Alghanim is registered as a resident at the address. Kutayba Alghanim and brother Bassam have had a famously contentious relationship regarding division of inheritances and control of the Alghanim Industries empire as legal disputes that began in the 2000s are still ongoing.
One recent event in the ongoing saga saw courts order a $32 million judgment against Bassam that advanced to a writ of execution, thereby permitting the seizure of real estate assets. Today, the Carnegie Hill property is estimated to be worth around $47 million, leading to its nearly $480,000 tax bill — just shy of the median sale price of a home in Bay Terrace or Washington Heights.
6) 1165 Madison Avenue PH C
Property Taxes Paid: $546,529
Owner: 1165 Madison PHCD Trust
The next-highest property tax bill is also due in Carnegie Hill, this time for a unique penthouse at the recently developed Bellemont. Borne from the purchase and merging of two penthouses (PH C and PH D) just two years ago, penthouse C now covers 13,011 square feet across four stories and comprises 11 bedrooms and 12 baths.
In this case, the buyer’s identity remains undisclosed with the property owned through a trust. The buyer picked up the two properties directly from developer Naftali Group, spending $42 million on PH C and an additional $26 million for PH D. By comparison, just the 2024-2025 property taxes due on the exclusive residence could buy another home outright in Downtown Flushing, Ocean Hill or Flatbush.
5) 25 Columbus Circle SPH 76
Property Taxes Paid: $594,808
Owner: Tegor Property S.A.
While the real ownership of the expansive, two-story penthouse remains deeply hidden behind a foreign corporate entity, the history of how the sprawling, terraced duplex came to be is easier to uncover. First,Tegor Property S.A. (then registered in Panama) purchased SPH 76 back in 2003, paying $43 million for the 12,504-square-foot property. Then, in 2005, the corporate entity (showing a NYC address) picked up SPH 77, paying $12.74 million for the 3,866-square-foot unit. A year later in 2006, the two units were combined into one 16,370-square-foot penthouse.
It’s worth noting here that a 2016 agreement between the owners and the condo board shows Tegor Property with a British Virgin Islands address. But, the latest documents associated with the property — two mortgages issued by Citibank worth a combined $61 million — shows the entity with a Swiss address. In any case, no matter who stands behind the secretive entity, their latest property tax bill could afford the average home in Harlem or Springfield Gardens.
4) 145 Perry Street
Property Taxes Paid: $613,376
Owner: Steven A. Cohen
Finished just last year is the newest property on our list of the largest property taxpayers in the city: Billionaire Steven Cohen’s imposing mega mansion on the corner of Perry and Washington is part of a growing trend of hedge fund managers taking over Greenwich Village — Sean Parker and Felix Baker have already moved in.
Cohen initially picked up the property at 145 Perry in 2012 for $38.8 million, but construction only kicked off in 2017 to replace the two-story stucco with a four-story, 27,000-square-foot design by Leroy Street Studio. Although development costs have been kept under tight wrap, the property is now estimated at $51 million. As such, its last property tax bill could buy a home in Rochdale, East Flatbush and Bellerose.
3) 22 East 71st Street
Property Taxes Paid: $696,355
Owner: Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani
Manhattan’s luxury real estate has long caught the eye of international dignitaries, and in June 2012, Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani joined their ranks. The former prime minister and foreign secretary of Qatar paid $47 million for the six-story, Lenox Hill mansion, which had been initially listed for $75 million by real estate developer Aby Rosen, following a large-scale renovation.
Initially built in 1922 for wool magnate Julius Forstmann in an Italian Renaissance style, the property comprises 25 rooms. Today, the 21,257-square-foot property maintains the same layout overall, but has undergone more than $16 million in further renovations and enhancements under the ownership of the Qatari politician. Now, the property is estimated at close to $58 million, with its last property tax bill enough to buy a home in Kips Bay, Bensonhurst or College Point.
2) 220 Central Park South #50
Property Taxes Paid: $860,055
Owner: Ken Griffin
Ken Griffin’s $240 million purchase of the sprawling #50 penthouse at 220 Central Park South remains the most expensive home ever sold in the U.S. to date. The deal — 3.5 years in the making — saw the Citadel founder become the owner of a 23,000-square-foot quadplex comprising 16 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms and generous outdoor spaces. Occupying floors 50 through 53 in the 70-story skyscraper, the property enjoys sweeping views of the city.
Later that year, Griffin further invested into the high-rise, picking up two adjoining units on the 20th floor, reportedly for staff and guests: The 519-square-foot Unit 20H sold for $1.89 million, while the 545-square-foot Unit 20J fetched nearly $2.1 million.
Essentially, two years of property taxes on Unit 50 would nearly cover the price of Unit 20H. Otherwise, outside of Central Park South, just the previous year’s property taxes could easily pay for a Turtle Bay or Roosevelt Island home. Or, with a little luck and research, it could also snag a place in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the Lower East Side, Clinton Hill or Borough Park.
1) 7 East 72nd Street
Property Taxes Paid: $984,265
Owner: Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
Built in the late 1890s for Standard Oil heir Oliver Gould Jennings, 7 E. 72nd St. has become a veritable ultra-luxury family compound for the Qatari royal family. Back in 2003, the then-Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, bought both the Oliver Gould Jennings House and the adjacent Henry T. Sloan House at 9 E. 72nd St. from Lycée Français for just $25.5 million.
He then embarked on a lavish renovation plan that ran into the tens of millions. When renovations were completed in 2010, the two mansions were combined into a sprawling, 42,380-square-foot compound. Just seven years later, the royal family also picked up the adjacent 12 E. 73rd St. for $41 million, turning the luxurious former home of billionaire Andrew Farkas into staff quarters.
Today, the main compound at 7 E. 72nd St. — NYC’s largest private residence — has an estimated value of $81.6 million. Moreover, its latest property tax bill could easily buy a home in Fresh Meadows, Queensboro Hill, Hollis Hills, or even the Financial District or Dyker Heights.
Methodology
To identify the top 10 largest property tax bills in New York City, we analyzed all property taxes for single family homes and condo units for the July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, timeframe.
Co-ops were excluded due to property taxes being charged for the entire building, not at the individual unit level. Properties still in the developer’s portfolio have also been excluded.
Tax data was sourced from the New York City Department of Finance.
Neighborhood-level median sale prices were sourced from PropertyShark’s 2024 Most Expensive NYC Neighborhoods report.
Property sale prices were sourced from property deeds and documents.
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