Amazon head Jeff Bezos – the richest man in the world — is reportedly considering purchasing Chelsea’s Walker Tower’s top-floor penthouse, which has been on the market for $35 million.
By: Prescott Coopersmith
“The pad is reportedly for sale after its owner, Emirati businessman Khadem al-Qubaisi, was accused of purchasing it with the proceeds from an international money-laundering scandal now under investigation by the feds,” says PageSix.com. “It sold for $50 million in 2014 to al-Qubaisi in an all-cash deal then setting a rec ord for the most expensive home ever sold in downtown Manhattan. It went back on the market for $70 million in 2015, but the price has been chopped numerous times.”
According to the KDS Development Group, which boasts a portfolio that includes the record-setting Walker Tower, “the 47 units, 24-stories, and 200,000 square feet of Walker Tower’s conversion incorporated the building’s original design details and includes all of the conveniences of modern, upscale residential living. The elaborate brick façade has been painstakingly restored and new façade elements have been constructed in the spirit of the Art Deco ornamentation that Ralph Walker made famous through architectural masterpieces in New York City.”
Built before neighborhood height limits were enacted, the firm’s web site continues, Walker Tower “rises high above its surroundings and features stunning and protected 360-degree Manhattan views, soaring ceilings. Apartments feature oversized tilt-and-turn windows, Smallbone of Devizes kitchens, Nanz hardware, French herringbone oak flooring, built-in zoned humidification system, and radiant floor heating throughout. Sales shattered market records, including the most expensive home sold in Downtown Manhattan.”
According to CNN Business, Bezos has made the same $81,840 salary for two decades. “He has never taken a stock award. Bezos doesn’t need it — he already owns 16% of Amazon, a stake worth more than $100 billion. But Amazon pays a ton of money every year to keep its CEO safe. Bezos has received $1.6 million in security-related services and business travel each year since 2010 and at least $1.1 million since 2003 when the company first started reporting security expenses as part of Bezos’ total compensation.”
The Amazon founder and MacKenzie Bezos announced their divorce in separate posts on Twitter last week. The couple, “whose marriage was splashed all over the tabloids in the wake of Bezos’ private emails to another woman being leaked, praised each other in their dueling tweets that also revealed that the Amazon founder will hold on to much of the couple’s assets. The settlement leaves MacKenzie Bezos with a stake in the online shopping giant worth more than $35 billion,” reported USA Today.
Bezos tweeted, “I’m grateful for her support and for her kindness in this process and am very much looking forward to our new relationship as friends and co-parents.”
