Ron Baron buys son $11M Park Avenue spread

Billionaire investor Ron Baron is well known for his expensive taste in real estate; the founder of Barons Funds paid $103 million for a residential property in East Hampton in 2007.

Now Baron appears to have laid down a more modest $11 million for a New York City pad at 1000 Park Avenue, according to public records filed with the city today. The 12th-floor apartment, a five-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom spread, is for his son David, who is starting a family, sources said. Records identify the buyer as the DRB 1998 Trust, whose trustees are named and Ron Baron and his wife, Judy.

The 4,400-square-foot apartment was first listed for sale in November 2011, asking $12.9 million but later dropped its price to $11.5 million in March. It was listed by Jaar-Mel Sloane of Sloane Square. The seller was Robert Cochran, the former CEO of Financial Security Assurance Holdings.

Sloane called the apartment “a wonderful family residence.” The Cochrans were selling, she said, because their children had grown up and moved on to set up their own homes.

The 12-room apartment features a formal dining room, a library and oversized picture windows facing east onto Park Avenue.

Ron Baron reportedly owns other properties in the city and in Vail. He scuffled with his neighbors in 2009 over an 800-foot concrete barrier he erected at his Hamptons home, according to previous reports.

David Baron has worked for his father’s company since 2005 as a research analyst, according to his company profile. He was not immediately available for comment.