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Russian billionaire scoops up another East 75th Street townhouse
Roman Abramovich now owns 9, 11, 13 and 15 East 75th Street
Mayor Bill de Blasio is not going to like this one. A Russian oligarch has gotten one step closer to becoming the king of East 75th Street.
Roman Abramovich, a steel czar and owner of Chelsea Football Club, has purchased the home at 9 East 75th Street and now owns four townhouses in a row on the block—numbers 9, 11, 13 and 15, according to the New York Post.
Abramovich initially wanted to combine 11, 13 and 15 to create a mansion for himself but now thinks combining 9, 11 and 13 would look better. His plans for 15 are unclear, but if he decides to combine all four houses, it will be the biggest home in city history.
He paid a total of $96 million for the four properties, which isn’t that much considering he is worth an estimated $9.6 billion. His earlier efforts to combine 11, 13 and 15 ran into problems with the city’s Department of Buildings and the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
De Blasio recently complained about Russian oligarchs buying properties in New York, saying they had essentially stolen their country’s wealth and then used that money to create homes for themselves in New York City.
Russian investment in the city is said to have picked up in part due to the Trump presidency, and their fixers include local New York real estate players. [NYP] – Eddie Small