Record Sale at $88 Million
The most expensive apartment in New York has passed from the hands of a retired American banker to the family of a Russian billionaire, setting some new milestones in the Manhattan real-estate market.
The sale for a penthouse with a wraparound terrace at 15 Central Park West owned by Sanford I. Weill, the former head of Citigroup Inc., closed on Wednesday, brokers said.
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The price paid, as expected, was $88 million, 66% above that the previous record sale.
The purchase was made in the name of a trust for Ekatarina Rybolovleva, a 22-year-old college student and daughter of Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian now based in Monaco who made a fortune in potash fertilizer.
Hall F. Willkie, the president of Brown Harris Stevens, confirmed that the sale had closed at the full asking price. He said that he understood that the buyers would keep the custom-designed space as is, including an oval bedroom, and a study paneled in Brazilian rosewood.
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The sale generated close to $2.5 million in city and state taxes, and produced what brokers said was a record commission on a residential sale of about $3.5 million for two brokers at Mr. Willkie's firm. Kyle W. Blackmon represented Mr. Weill, while Maria Torresy represented the Rybolovlevs, brokers said.
The marquee sale shows the growing footprint of international buyers in New York in the past few years. Many of the units at One57, a new 1,004-foot tower under construction on West 57th Street, have gone to Russian and Chinese buyers, brokers said.
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The previous record residential sale in Manhattan was the 2006 purchase of a townhouse on East 75th Street by J. Christopher Flowers, a private-equity investor. The largest condo deal was the $51.5 million purchase of a series of apartments at the Plaza Hotel by developer Harry Macklowe in 2007.
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Mr. Weill has said he planned to donate the proceeds of the sale to charity, likely to one of a number of groups he already supports. A spokesman for Mr. Weill didn't return a call requesting comment.
