Rupert Murdoch sells West Village home for $27.5M

Media mogul owned 278 West 11th Street for only one year

278 West 11th Street and Rupert Murdoch
278 West 11th Street and Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch has made a quick $2.5 million profit on the sale of his West Village townhouse, having purchased it just last year for $25 million.

The 21st Century Fox and News Corp mogul, who recently stepped into the role of chairman and CEO at Fox News after Roger Ailes left the company amid allegations of sexual harassment, received $27.5 million for the house, at 278 West 11th Street, according to records filed with the city Wednesday.

The buyer’s identity was cloaked by an LLC, but there are indications of a connection to Silicon Valley. The buyer used a Palo Alto-based law firm to secure a loan.

Murdoch’s broker, Dolly Lenz [TRDataCustom], was not immediately available for comment.

Murdoch first listed the house for sale last August, just five months after buying it. The original listing price was $29 million. If it had immediately sold for that price, the media titan would have made $1 million for every month he owned it.

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Meanwhile, Murdoch’s triplex penthouse at One Madison is still on the market for $72 million after more than a year on the market. He bought that property in 2014, shortly after his divorce from Wendy Deng. He has since remarried with former model Jerry Hall, ex-wife of Mick Jagger.

The 25-foot-wide West Village property features multiple outdoor spaces, a four-passenger elevator, a screening room and a 1,200-bottle wine cellar.

The buyer will also have some celebrity neighbors. “Sex and the City” actress Sarah Jessica Parker recently paid $34.5 million for two adjacent townhouses at 273-275 West 11th Street, TRD previously reported.

Murdoch announced to Fox employees last week that Ailes was out. Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly are among the 25 or so women who have alleged Ailes sexually harassed them.