It looks like retail heir David Lowy is the buyer of Nigerian oil tycoon Kola Aluko’s $36 million condominium at One57.
Lowy, the son of Westfield Corp. founder Frank Lowy, purchased the 6,240-square-foot unit at a foreclosure auction earlier this month, but the buyer’s identity wasn’t clear at the time. The Wall Street Journal reports that Lowy controls the LLC that bought the unit.
Aluko, who is being investigated for money laundering in Nigeria and Europe, bought the 79th-floor unit for $50.9 million in 2014. But he defaulted on a $35.3 million mortgage he took on the condo in 2015.
Lowy owns another unit in the building on a lower floor and after his latest purchase, has listed it for $27 million. [WSJ] — Kathryn Brenzel