Billionaire From Russia Breaks Record On The New York Real Estate Property Market

Within the apartment are four bedrooms, a bar, a library, a gallery, and even a terrace that wraps around the entire property, allowing fabulous views of the Central Park and New York skyline.

The apartment was sold by the former Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill and his wife who had purchased the apartment for a sum of $42.4 million which had already managed to break records on the market at the time. Having decided that it was time to place the apartment back on the market, the couple had made it clear that there would be no negotiations on the price tag of $88 million — adding that the proceeds were going to be used for charity donations — which essentially led experts to feel reluctant about whether or not anyone would willingly pay such a price for the apartment.

Nevertheless, Dmitry Rybolovlev — the former owner of Uralkali which is among the largest potash fertilizer concerns in Russia — has proven that indeed somebody would pay such a sum value for the upscale property. In fact, the New York apartment is his second most expensive deal within the United States as he has also purchased a villa in Palm Beach Florida for a sum value of $100 million.

According to Forbes magazine, Rybolovlev currently holds the position of being the 93rd richest person in the world with a net worth of around $9.5 billion. He even took control over the Bank of Cyprus in 2010. Today, he is in the middle of a divorce which could cost him approximately $6 billion in total.

There have been many Russian multi-millionaires who have been coming to the United States to purchase luxury real estate properties in various locations across the country. The Russian composer Igor Crutoy had even set a new record for a New York condominium property at the Plaza Hotel which he purchased at $48 million. The founder of a Moscow-based DST, Yuri Milner, had paid $100 million for a mansion in Los Altos Hills, California. In Miami Beach, the most expensive home purchase was made in April 2011 as the owner of Russian Standard Bank and Russian Standard Vodka, Roustam Tariko, had purchased an estate for the sum value of $25.5 million. Other billionaires who have purchased luxury real estate in the United States include Roman Abramovich, Oleg Baikov, and Vladislav Doronin.

It is clear to see that the international buyer population is certainly growing as far as the sales on residential properties within the United States are concerned. However, it is a challenge to determine the actual numbers because the majority of these high-profile buyers use a proxy when conducting their transactions.