New York City’s newest most expensive listing may boast a 50-foot width, imported French limestone embellished with carvings and a massive 28,000 square feet of space — but it also comes with a dark past.
Convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein‘s Upper East Side mansion, one of his many homes where the pedophile had long been accused of sexually abusing young girls, hit the market on Thursday for $88 million.
Equally as shocking as his 2019 death, when he committed suicide in his Manhattan jail cell, is the fact that this home — should it sell for that sky-high asking price — could set a record for the most expensive city townhouse ever sold. (In 2019, former hedge fund manager Philip Falcone sold his East 67th Street townhouse for $77.1 million, which stands as the current record.)
That said, the mighty $88 million figure makes this home the city’s most expensive currently for sale, according to listings portal StreetEasy.
This mansion is joined by plenty of other high-priced properties. What are they and what are their histories? Here’s a look at the most expensive apartments and townhomes in the city right now.
9 E. 71st St. | $88 million
Epstein reportedly bought his former home from his ex-friend and mentor, L Brands CEO Leslie Wexner, for $20 million in 1998 through a Virgin Islands company headed by Epstein.
This property dates to the 1930s, when Macy’s heir Herbert N. Straus commissioned architect Horace Trumbauer to build it, according to the listing, repped by Adam Modlin.
Beyond its 50-foot width, this home also stands seven stories tall and is perched on a lot more than 100 feet in depth. Inside, the mansion still has some of Epstein’s furniture — as well as a room with a detailed video security system.
The listing doesn’t mention many details of the 40-room interior, but this is where federal agents reportedly found a safe containing cash, dozens of diamonds and an expired foreign passport that listed Epstein’s primary residence as Saudi Arabia.
The sole interior listing image shows a wood-paneled room with a chandelier and furniture that appears to have belonged to Epstein. Another image shows a terrace with room for plantings and seating that overlooks the Frick museum.
The proceeds of this mansion’s sale, in part, will go to Epstein’s estate, which the Wall Street Journal notes has recently set up a compensation fund to adjudicate claims from Epstein’s alleged victims out of court.
12 E. 69th St. | $79 million
The listing of Epstein’s mansion knocked billionaire businessman Vincent Viola’s 40-foot-wide Upper East Side mansion off its throne. Viola, owner of the Florida Panthers hockey team, former chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange and President Trump’s first nominee for Army secretary, first listed the property in 2013 for an eye-popping $114 million. The following year, it lowered its asking price to $98 million. From 2018 through 2019, it has asked $88 million and, in early 2020, it underwent a cut to $79 million, its current ticket price.
This property nearly sold after entering contract in 2017 with a Chinese buyer to grab it for $80 million, but the deal fell through for unclear reasons.
Spanning 20,000 square feet across six levels, features include a 40-foot great room with French doors, a formal dining room with space for 50 people and a full-floor master bedroom suite. Most of all, this home is known for its saline swimming pool and a split-level movie theater with velvet seating. Paula Del Nunzio of Brown Harris Stevens has this listing.
25 Columbus Circle #PH80 | $75 million
Listed for $75 million since July 2019, this Time Warner Center penthouse belongs to billionaire Stephen Ross, whose Related Companies developed this very Columbus Circle address.
Ross, a Michigan native who also owns the Miami Dolphins, listed this 8,274-square-foot spread to move into a penthouse at another one of his developments, 35 Hudson Yards at, you guessed it, the far West Side Hudson Yards mega development.
Outfitted by designer Tony Ingrao, the home has custom finishes throughout — including inlaid stone floors at the private elevator entrance, two fireplaces in the living room and a dining room with marble floors. The chef’s kitchen has custom sycamore cabinets and a breakfast area. A library has another fireplace, as well as hide-upholstered walls. Building amenities include a 24-hour doorman and concierge, valet parking, a gym and a swimming pool with views of the city. Deborah Grubman, Deborah Kern and David Adler of the Corcoran Group have this listing.
12 E. 63rd St. | $67 million
Owned by Greenfield Properties II LLC, which bought this 13,000-square-foot townhouse for $19.66 million in 2010, this spread is now listed for $67 million. That’s $10 million down from its original $77 million asking price in 2015, according to StreetEasy.
Inside, there are seven bedrooms and an internal elevator that connects all seven levels to the private roof garden. With interior design by Thierry W. Despont and architecture by Pierre-Yves Rochon, there’s a full-floor master suite with a separate dining area, a fitness center with a 20-foot swimming pool and an entertainment suite with a built-in wet bar. The Corcoran Group and Douglas Elliman share this listing in a co-exclusive.
15 Central Park West PH18/19A | $65 million
Want to share an address with Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington? At 15 Central Park West, this corner penthouse came to market in September 2019 for $65 million — and its price remains the same.
It’s reportedly owned by Dr. Lindsay Rosenwald, a biopharmaceutical industry investor and entrepreneur, who bought the unit for about $30.55 million in 2008, not long after the Robert A.M. Stern-designed building was completed.
With five bedrooms across nearly 6,000 square feet, the duplex has a private elevator, a gas fireplace and two Central Park-facing terraces — one of which almost fully wraps the 18th floor. The master bedroom includes a park-facing sitting room. As for building amenities, there’s a private restaurant, a library, a screening room, a business center and a health club. Felise Gross and David Kornmeier of Brown Harris Stevens have this listing.