AllianceBernstein CEO pays $37M for pad at 720 Park Avenue
December 29, 2008 11:45AM By Adam Pincus
720 Park Avenue
Investment advisor Carl Spielvogel and his wife Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel sold their cooperative apartment at 720 Park Avenue, at the corner of 70th Street, for $36.63 million, nearly twice what they paid for it two years ago.
The sale of the seventh-floor unit closed December 18, according to property records posted Friday.
The buyer was identified as Jill Kraus, wife of Peter Kraus, a former executive vice president at Merrill Lynch who reportedly received a $25 million bonus after working at the firm for three months this year. However, only her name was listed on the property report. He was hired as chairman and CEO of AllianceBernstein on December 19. A Merrill Lynch spokeswoman would not comment on his pay package.
The sellers, who are top Democratic
fundraisers, bought the apartment in June 2006 for $20 million,
property records show. Earlier reports of the sale estimated the price
tag at $37 million.
Just before buying the 7th-floor unit, the Spielvogels sold their 17th-floor apartment in the building for $18.7 million, in May 2006, records showed.
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Comments
Anonymous
Nice purchase, though it sounds a bit high. Must be an incredible space.
Comment #1 Posted By: Anonymous 12/29/08
Anonymous
Clearly this gentleman doesn't read The Real Deal, because if he did, he would know that he could've probably gotten the place for a lot less in a few weeks.
Comment #2 Posted By: Anonymous 12/29/08
Anonymous
Who are these people? Where do they come from and how could they afford to pay such inflated prices in this market. If the unit is being sold for twice what it was purchased for ONLY two years ago, I am sure there was room for better negotiations.
Comment #3 Posted By: Anonymous 12/29/08
Anonymous
These people like everyone to know they have an expensive apartment. They probably are looking for the prestige rather than a good deal. Someone who wanted value would probably never even look at apartments at those prices as they could live just as well is something that cost only a few million.
Comment #4 Posted By: Anonymous 12/29/08
Anonymous
Its very inspiring to see that deals like this are still happening. One deal for $37M. It would've been better if it was 37 deals at $1M a piece, but its all good.
Comment #5 Posted By: Anonymous 12/29/08
Anonymous
It goes to show you that New York will always remain to be be New York and no place in the world is like it. I promise these sort of deals aren't happening in London, Madrid or Paris.
Comment #6 Posted By: Anonymous 12/29/08
Anonymous
No wonder the financial market is down the drain. CEO for only 3 months in ML and got paid $25M bonus? What the heck? Why are these people getting such huge sum of money with doing anything? Look at ML, it's a mess. That's legalized high way robbery
Comment #7 Posted By: Anonymous 12/29/08
Anonymous
ML is a stooooooopid company that deserved their fate ... payin' that much for so little ... hope JT's pals repay the favour when he gets the boot from BOA.
Comment #8 Posted By: Anonymous 12/29/08
Anonymous
And yet people are getting laid off and can't put food on the table!! Let's see how much he can contribute to Alliance Bernstein!!
Comment #9 Posted By: Anonymous 12/29/08
Anonymous
MER Board of Directors approved an insane contract for Peter Kraus in May/June 2008 (why did a "strategic advisor" need a contract with a change of control provision?)after it was already clear how toxic the firm's B/S and capital markets were. The rest of the country is going bonkers over the "Wall Street Bailout" (anyone else visit relatives in the Midwest over the holidays and have to listen to the tirades about Wall Street?) and Kraus, who worked for six weeks (he had to take a 3 month garden before starting!) does not have the dignity to refuse to collect on his contract. Instead he chooses to overpay for a Park Ave. apartment. This guy has such bad karma, cant wait to see how it comes back to haunt him.
Comment #10 Posted By: Anonymous 12/29/08
Anonymous
very BAD taste & timing when people are struggling to make ends meet and just stay employed! AB employees BEWARE!
Comment #11 Posted By: Anonymous 12/29/08
Anonymous
WOW.... Alliance Bernstein just laid off 15% of their employees.
Comment #12 Posted By: Anonymous 12/30/08
Anonymous
Bad, bad, bad this guy Kraus is bad news. Now he'll run Alliance Bernstein even further into the ground.
Comment #13 Posted By: Anonymous 12/30/08
Anonymous
Stupid move for a "smart guy". Large real estate transactions attract media scrutiny especially when made by someone like Kraus who ripped off ML shareholders and employees.
Comment #14 Posted By: Anonymous 12/30/08
Dhalgren
I'm sure a lot of readers here are just looking for full-time work, let alone $25M for 3 months of 'work.'
Comment #15 Posted By: Dhalgren 12/30/08
Anonymous
What a loser.
Comment #16 Posted By: Anonymous 12/30/08
Anonymous
My tax dollars at work.
Comment #17 Posted By: Anonymous 12/31/08
Anonymous
"It goes to show you that New York will always remain to be be New York and no place in the world is like it. I promise these sort of deals aren't happening in London, Madrid or Paris." You mean the financial ghetto it's turning into?
Comment #18 Posted By: Anonymous 12/31/08
Anonymous
The former CEO of AllianceBernstein was ousted for this clown. Said former CEO declined a bonus this year to avoid such bad press. Nice move board of directors...
Comment #19 Posted By: Anonymous 12/31/08
Anonymous
FACT is US TAX PAYERS probably paid for this with bail out money. Mr. Kraus had no problem with cashing in on money HE DID NOT EARN. WALL STREET: THIEVES, LIARS AND THUGS LIVING HIGH WHILE OTHERS DIE FROM LACK OF HEALTH INSURANCE. SHAME SHAME SHAME.
Comment #20 Posted By: Anonymous 12/31/08
Anonymous
Seems ironic that Kraus received such an obscene amount for basically doing nothing. Now he's taking over a very troubled Alliance Bernstein at a time when he'll clearly need to cut budgets, cut staff, cut services. Who knows, he may even have to suspend bonus payments to all those AB lackeys, cancel Tom's party...what hypocrisy!
Comment #21 Posted By: Anonymous 12/31/08
Anonymous
Who is Tom? What Party?
Comment #22 Posted By: Anonymous 01/02/09
Anonymous
Who is Tom? What Party?
Comment #23 Posted By: Anonymous 01/02/09
Anonymous
I think it is disgusting and must make the hard working employees of Merrill who have lost their jobs so upset. Greedy creep
Comment #24 Posted By: Anonymous 01/02/09
CBR
Comment #6: These sort of deals aren't happening in Paris, London, Madrid or Paris because those buyers would've negotiated a better price. New York will always remain to be be New York and no place in the world is like it - the only place where people continually overpay for housing.
Comment #25 Posted By: CBR 01/03/09
Anonymous
All you people making comments should understand the facts before making idiotic comments. The apartment was purchased before Mr. Kraus started his job at ML, but settled in December. Furthermore, he could have purchased the apt without the bonus many times over. He was obviously astute enough to realize he should protect himself by writing into his contract that if ML was to be sold after starting his job, he would receive a 25 million dollar bonus. I don't think this is different then what most other people would have done if they were in a position to sign a contract.
Comment #26 Posted By: Anonymous 01/08/09
Anonymous
If this is where the bail-out money from our tax dollars went, I don't think congress should go ahead with the nex stimulous package. No bailout to wallstreeet to give themselves bonuses.
Comment #27 Posted By: Anonymous 01/30/09
Anonymous
I live in Charlotte. Thain is kind of creepy but he brilliantly outmaneuvered Ken Lewis at BofA. Thain 'sold' Merrill for $50B, which was in the best interests of his shareholders, and he paid his people bonuses that BofA wouldn't have. Lewis looks the yokel and BofA stock goes into the toilet and the dividend goes to a penny. Chairman, CEO, and President Lewis will have to lose this one. Kraus might have made an obscene bonus, but you gotta hope those days are over.
Comment #28 Posted By: Anonymous 01/31/09
victor
When will we all just realize the game is rigged. As long as there is no conflict of interest and it is legal to site as directors on boards and hire and vote on compensation packages for others (friends) who sit on other corporate boards the pay packages will always be inflated. Once one board of directors tightens the reigns on its chief officers they begin to tie the rope around their own necks. The game is played only at the highest levels by 0.1% of the population and remaining % is told to invest in IRA's and 401-K's for the future. Guess what, the future is gone our 401-k's are not comming back. The won the game.
Comment #29 Posted By: victor 02/11/09
Anonymous
Wow, bad press for our new CEO. So will I get a golden hand-shake of that size when they restructure my office?
Comment #30 Posted By: Anonymous 02/23/09
Anonymous
Exodus from Bernstein continues...Lew Sanders loyalists continue to react to AXA's appointment of Kraus to AB head spot. Karma indeed.
Comment #31 Posted By: Anonymous 09/02/09