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Billionaire Homes: Pretty Nice
By
Jacob Dobkin
Published Dec 9, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jacob Dobkin
Published Dec 9, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Forbes has a funnauseating feature on the homes of billionaires, and three of them are in New York (okay, one is in the Hamptons, but to a Billionaire With a Helicopter, that's practically one of the five-boroughs):
When billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg was elected, he declined to live in Gracie Mansion, preferring his own luxury digs nearby. Built in 1889, Bloomberg's townhouse has five floors and totals 7,500 square feet--including the chunk of the building next door, which he bought to enlarge his dining room. He paid $3.5 million in 1986, and today the house is worth many times that. Hizzoner also owns properties in Bermuda, London, Vail, Colo., and North Salem, N.Y.
David Koch and family may not have even moved into this opulent spread yet, since they had planned extensive renovations. Last year, Koch was said to have bid $17 million for the 18-room duplex in 740 Park Ave., one of the most exclusive buildings in Manhattan. The 17-story building is also home to George David, head of United Technologies, who paid $25 million for his place last year, and financier Stephen Schwarzman, who bought part of John D. Rockefeller's old apartment.
Quelle Farm, Steven Spielberg's summer retreat in the Hamptons, has good--or at least expensive--company. It sits on Georgica Pond, across the water from the estate that broke New York real estate records last year when it sold for $45 million. Other high-profile neighbors include financier Ron Perelman and designer Calvin Klein. Needless to say, these aren't Spielberg's only digs; he also has homes in Manhattan and Pacific Palisades, Calif.
If we ever become billionaires, we'd definitely have more than one house. But for now, Gothamist will be content with our imaginary "country house" and imaginary "helicopter" (much like Wonder Woman's jet) that gets us there. The part about Bloomberg's dining room is very interesting though - how much would you have to pay to get some of your neighboring apartment's space? Because we really want some more closet space.
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Jacob Dobkin
Jake Dobkin co-founded Gothamist with Jen Chung. In 2019, Jake released Ask a Native New Yorker, a book based on his Gothamist advice column.
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