Race car-driving ex-banker Alan Wilzig, known for inspiring a minor character in the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street,” has sold his Tribeca townhouse to a wealthy Brazilian family for $12.65 million, well below its original asking price of $44 million in 2014.
Having paid $3.35 million for the property and another $1.5 million on renovation, Wilzig still netted a tidy profit, the Wall Street Journal reported. The $44 million price tag was a “pie in the sky” strategy motivated by aggressive pricing he had seen in the area.
Wilzig told the Journal he wanted to “see if some Chinese billionaire wanted to live in Tribeca bad enough.” Following his divorce in 2017, he lowered the price tag to $20 million, when he became serious about selling. Before that, Wilzig says he wouldn’t have sold “without being paid such a stupid amount of money compared to what it’s worth.”
The ex-banker’s connection to “The Wolf of Wall Street” stems from the fact that his ex-girlfriend Nadine Caridi later went on to become Jordan Belfort’s second wife. Wilzig has objected to his portrayal in the Scorsese film, claiming it made him appear “nerdy” and left out the fact that he was driving a red Ferrari.
The 6,500-square foot home is one of the two townhouses at 7 Hubert Street, built in 2003. In addition to four bedrooms, the property includes a “great room” with an onyx fireplace, an 800-square-foot patio, a media room, spa, and private garage. Jane Powers of Douglas Elliman had the listing.
Wilzig now plans to spend more time at his farm in Taghkanic in upstate New York, where he built a 40-foot-wide Grand Prix racing track in 2010 for $7.5 million. He has retired from professional driving. Wilzig is also an investor and the former CEO of the Trust Company of New Jersey, which was previously owned by his father, oil tycoon Siggi Wilzig. [WSJ] — Kevin Sun