Simmons buys out wife’s penthouse share

Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons is now the sole owner of a
luxury penthouse near Ground Zero that he and his estranged wife
purchased together in 1998, city records showed.

The rap mogul bought Kimora Lee Simmons’ share of the 7,000 square-foot
duplex at 114 Liberty Street for $2.32 million on Dec. 3, the filings
revealed.

The couple married in 1998 and have two daughters, ages 7 and 5. They
separated in 2006. Kimora Lee Simmons lives in Saddle River, N.J., and
Russell Simmons lives in the West Village, the filing said.

The building, across the street from the World Trade Center site, was
heavily damaged by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In 2005, several
years after the family moved to Saddle River, N.J., they put the condo
on the market for $11 million. They reduced the price to $7.2 million,
the Observer reported last year.

A spokeswoman for Russell Simmons declined to comment when contacted by The Real Deal.
A spokeswoman for Kimora Lee Simmons, a former model who stars in a
reality television show and owns a line of beauty products, could not
immediately be reached for comment. Kimora Lee Simmons now lives in
Saddle River, N.J., and Russell Simmons lives in the West Village, the
filing said.