NEW YORK CITY—The French government is reportedly in contract to sell the French Ambassador's co-op at 740 Park Ave. for $70 million, which would put the sale at $22 million over the asking price of $48 million.
The buyer is billionaire hedge fund executive Israel Englander, who is purchasing the property as a pied a terre for his children, according to a report in Paris Match. The lofty purchase price calculates out to a tie for the most expensive New York City condo sale with Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris's recent $70-million purchase of a 960 Fifth Ave. penthouse owned by the late Edgar Bronfman.
A high-end broker told the New York Post, “These billionaires have so much wealth that they will fight for what they want. If they can spend $142 million on a painting, then $70 million for a trophy apartment doesn't seem like that much. It's such a small percent of their overall wealth.”
The French government acquired the Park Avenue co-op in 1979 for $600,000. See story in the New York Post.
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