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Clinton fundraiser and megalobbyist Tony Podesta pays $7.4M for Flatiron pad
K Street veteran ceded ownership to an apartment at 170 Fifth Ave. following 2014 divorce settlement
Washington lobbyist and Hillary Clinton campaign fundraiser Tony Podesta picked up a $7.4 million condo at 10 Madison Square West, records filed with the city Monday show.
The 2,391-square-foot apartment has three bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths, and all of the rooms face Madison Square Park. Podesta is the first buyer of this particular unit at the Witkoff Group-developed tower, where sales launched in 2013. The 125-unit building’s total sellout price eclipses $824 million, making it one of the area’s most expensive residential towers.
Public records show that in 2009, Podesta and now ex-wife Heather Podesta, who is also a top lobbyist, bought a condo at nearby 170 Fifth Avenue for $3.25 million. Following a divorce settlement in 2014, Heather is now the sole owner of that apartment.
Tony and his brother, John Podesta, the chairman for Clinton’s 2016 president campaign, founded the lobbying firm Podesta Group in 1988. The firm reportedly racked up $24 million in lobbying fees in 2016, and clients in the real estate space have included construction firm AECOM Tishman, Australian property investor LendLease and West African Real Estate Holdings.
The Podesta Group recently came under fire when it was found to have failed to disclose lobbying work it did in 2012 involving the State Department during Clinton’s tenure as U.S. Secretary of State. The firm met or communicated with State Department officials at least 32 times while representing a Ukrainian nonprofit with close ties to the pro-Russian Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych, as well as to ex-Donald Trump presidential campaign manager Paul Manafort.
Tony and John were also the subject of a conspiracy theory that became popular in far right-wing politics during the 2016 political election, alleging their involvement in a fictitious sex trafficking operation based at a Washington pizza restaurant called Comet Ping Pong.
In Washington, D.C., Tony owns a 7,000-square-foot mansion in the Kalorama neighborhood, where the Obama family recently bought an $8 million home. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner also live in the neighborhood.