Billionaire Michael Steinhardt sells Carnegie Hill penthouse for $11.4M

Hedge funder closed co-op sale weeks after agreeing to surrender $70M in illicit relics to Manhattan D.A.

Billionaire hedge funder Michael Steinhardt in front of 1158 Fifth Avenue (Getty Images, LoopNet)
Billionaire hedge funder Michael Steinhardt in front of 1158 Fifth Avenue (Getty Images, LoopNet)

Weeks after agreeing to surrender $70 million worth of illicit artifacts to the Manhattan district attorney, billionaire Michael Steinhardt recouped some of the loss by offloading his luxurious Carnegie Hill co-op.

The hedge funder sold the expansive penthouse atop 1158 Fifth Avenue to real estate investor Greg Olafson for $11.4 million, records show.

Overlooking Central Park, the triplex unit, listed by Brown Harris Stevens for $12.5 million, includes a corner living room, wood-paneled library and double-windowed kitchen on its first floor, alongside a formal dining room that can seat up to 20 people.

Upstairs, the primary suite contains two dressing rooms with a double steam shower and half bath as well as a glass-enclosed bedroom surrounded by two private terraces. On the third floor is a solarium with 16-foot ceilings in a glass-enclosed atrium.

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Completed in 1924, amenities at the landmarked co-op at 1158 Fifth Avenue include a fitness center, private storage, bicycle storage and central laundry.

Olafson, the buyer, is managing director of Blue Sand Holdings, which provides capital to real estate ventures and private companies. Prior to forming the firm in 2005, Olafson was vice president at California-based developer Steadfast Companies.

Steinhardt, 81, made headlines last month after agreeing to turn over 180 historical artifacts, valued at $70 million, that were reportedly acquired from “known antiquities dealers” who officials said had looted and smuggled the relics from 11 countries, including Greece, Iraq, Israel and Italy.

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