Opinion / How New York City’s richest neighbourhoods – Billionaires’ Row and Tribeca – present 2 different faces of America’s super wealthy
With views of Central Park, luxury skyscraper apartments in New York’s Billionaires’ Row can sell for more than US$60 million – but celebrities prefer ‘paparazzi-proof’ buildings on Tribeca’s quiet streets, writes Katie Warren
I recently toured two of the most expensive areas for real estate in New York City: Billionaires’ Row, a set of super-tall luxury skyscrapers along the southern edge of Central Park, where condos start at more than US$3 million and can cost upwards of US$60 million; and Tribeca, a trendy downtown neighbourhood where the median sale price is a cool US$3.8 million.
Tribeca, the city’s richest zip code, has an average income of US$879,000, and has been known to attract celebrities and young people. Billionaires’ Row, meanwhile, has seen some record-breaking sales – naturally between billionaires.
After spending time in both parts of the city, it was clear that the two areas represent two different faces of wealth.
On Billionaires’ Row, the ultra-wealthy buy penthouses they will rarely set foot in – all for the prestige of Central Park views
Billionaires’ Row, a set of eight ultra-luxury skyscrapers along the southern end of Manhattan’s Central Park, has seen some of New York City’s richest home sales ever.
It includes Central Park South, New York City’s most expensive street in 2019, where the median sale price is currently US$9.8 million.
In 2014, Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell paid about US$100 million for a penthouse in the One57 tower, which was the most expensive home ever sold in New York City at the time. And in January 2019, hedge fund manager Ken Griffin shattered that record by purchasing a US$238 million penthouse in nearby 220 Central Park South.
Billionaires’ ghost town?
Yet these record-breaking sales hide the fact that many Billionaires’ Row condos are sitting empty.
The area’s wealthy buyers may rarely even set foot in their pricey apartments. Dell, for example, lives primarily in Austin, Texas. And Griffin is based in Chicago and has made extravagant real estate purchases in London and Miami in addition to New York.
The Billionaires’ Row towers also currently have a glut of high-end inventory, with more than 40 per cent of condos unsold, Curbed New York recently reported.
