Jets owner Woody Johnson sells co-op for record $80M

Ukranian-born Leonard Blavatnik pays $5 million more than the asking price

From left: Leonard Blavatnik, 834 Fifth Avenue and Woody Johnson
From left: Leonard Blavatnik, 834 Fifth Avenue and Woody Johnson

Manhattan has a new record for most expensive co-op ever sold: $80 million. Billionaire Leonard Blavatnik bought New York Jets owner Woody Johnson’s unit at 834 Fifth Avenue, which was listed for $75 million.

Earlier this month, Johnson accepted the offer from Blavatnik.

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Johnson, heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, never lived in the 11th- and 12th-floor duplex, but did use the space for parties and fundraisers.

Blavatnik is the world’s 32nd richest man, according to Forbes. He’s made other trophy real estate buys in Manhattan, including 2 East 63rd Street, a townhouse that used to be the New York Academy of Science, which he bought in 2005 for $31.3 million. A year later, he bought a unit at 998 Fifth Avenue for $27 million and in 2007, he purchased Edgar Bronfman’s 15 East 64th Street townhouse for $51 million, according to the New York Post. Until now, the record for priciest co-op ever sold was held by hedge fund manager Israel Englander, who bought a duplex at 740 Park Avenue for $71.3 million earlier this year. [NYP] — Claire Moses