740 Park Avenue is a legendary address, at one time considered (and still thought to be by some) the most luxurious and powerful residential building in New York City. The co-op, on the corner of 71st Street and Park Avenue, has an impressive past.
Built in 1929 by the grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis — who lived there as a child — 740 Park has just 31 residences that have commanded some of the highest real estate prices in New York history. John D. Rockefeller, financier Saul Steinberg, and Blackstone founder Steve Schwarzman have all called the building (and in fact, the same opulent apartment) home.
While many of New York’s rich and powerful people have decamped to 15 Central Park West and the shiny condos rising along the new “Billionaire’s Row” on 57th Street, that won’t diminish classic co-ops of the Upper East Side, and 740 Park in particular, says Michael Gross. Gross is the author of “House of Outrageous Fortune” about 15 Central Park West and “740 Park: The Story of the World’s Richest Apartment Building.”
“I think in the current condo era, [740 Park] represents a previous generation of Manhattan wealth,” Gross told Business Insider. “But I think that the cyclical nature of real estate makes it a very good bet that co-ops will have a comeback, and the east side will have a comeback.”
Who calls 740 Park home? Billionaire Blackstone founder Steve Schwarzman lives in what’s considered to be the best triplex in the building. Schwarzman bought the unit, once owned by John D. Rockefeller, for about $30 million in 2000. It’s worth an estimated $120 million today.
Israel “Izzy” Englander, billionaire founder of the hedge fund Millennium Partners, bought a duplex from France (yes, the country) in June 2014. After a bidding war, he paid $70 million, $22 million over the asking price. It’s worth an estimated $95 million today.
In 2003, oil heir David Koch paid $17 million for an 18-room duplex; he spent a year renovating the place before moving in.
Oaktree Capital cofounder Howard Marks bought two adjoining duplexes in May 2012 for $52.5 million, setting the record for the most expensive co-op ever sold in New York at the time. The apartment has 30 rooms, a private elevator, and two libraries. It’s worth about $66 million today.
Jonathan Sobel, an investor and former partner at Goldman Sachs, paid $19.25 million for his duplex apartment in October 2012.
Ex-Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain also resides at 740 Park. He bought his duplex from the late philanthropist Enid Haupt in 2006 for $27.5 million.
740 Park was once home to one of the world’s largest private collections of Mark Rothko works. The former owner — alleged Madoff middleman and ex-financier J. Ezra Merkin — still lives there, but the paintings were sold during the scandal.
Hedge fund manager David Ganek paid $19 million for his duplex, famously the childhood home of Jackie O., in 2005. The apartment, which has a marble gallery, a library, and a media room, just hit the market again for $44 million.
Hedge fund billionaire Charles Stevenson paid $9 million for his apartment and has served as the president of the building’s co-op board.
