Most Expensive U.S. Residence: Fact or Fantasy?
Sources close to billionaire deny he bought luxury triplex in Manhattan.
Nov. 9, 2007— -- It was billed as the priciest residential transaction in the country.
A three-floor, 30,000-square-foot penthouse with 23 bedrooms, 25 bathrooms, five powder rooms, a rooftop terrace, a gym and twice-daily maid service was about to be sold to a Russian billionaire for $150 million, the New York Post reported in a front-page story Thursday.
But Len Blavatnik's record-setting purchase isn't happening. Sources close to the billioniare say that there is no deal for the three apartments at the famed Mark hotel at East 77th Street, which Blavatnik had reportedly planned to combine. Blavatnik's spokesman declined comment.
The sale report is just another sign of the real estate hysteria gripping Manhattan, where some of the planet's richest plutocrats are snapping up the priciest property.
While the rest of the country suffers through a severe housing slump, with homebuyers forced into foreclosure, the city's real estate market continues to bubble.
In the last few months, there have been several eye-popping transactions:
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