Democratic megadonor unloaded Trump Tower condo day before election

While Democratic megadonor Henry Laufer was helping evict President Donald Trump from the White House, the billionaire former hedge funder was trying to sell his own Trump Tower condo.

He succeeded on both fronts.

Laufer’s 60th-story unit at 721 Fifth Avenue closed the day before the presidential election with a final sale price of $5.5 million, according to property records. He purchased the unit in 2006 with his wife Marsha for $9.5 million. The couple listed it for sale in July with an asking price of $6.75 million.

The buyer is listed as Arboledas del Huajuco S.A. de C.V., an abbreviated suffix common among Mexican companies.

Judi Drogin-Feldman, a broker at the Corcoran Group who held the listing, declined to comment on the transaction.

While some donors might have given to Biden as a hedge against the new administration, the Laufers have been consistent Democratic supporters.

The couple gave more than $14 million to Democrats this election cycle, according to the Wall Street Journal. In 2016, the year Hillary Clinton lost to Trump, they gave more than $10 million to mainly Democratic causes, according to the Federal Election Commission.

The sale of the Trump Tower condo leaves the Laufers with residences in Suffolk County, New York, and Palm Beach County, Florida, where their $12.9 million home, purchased in 2009, is less than two miles from the Trump-owned Mar-a-Lago country club.

Trump’s ascension to the White House burdened his properties financially, with Trump Tower’s occupancy rate in mid-2019 at 83 percent, compared to 99 percent prior to his presidency. Units at Trump’s Chicago tower are selling for 42 percent less than they did two years ago.

Meanwhile, the Trump Organization reported much higher occupancy rates for Trump Tower’s commercial spaces to potential lenders than to tax authorities, ProPublica found.