Robert F. Smith revealed as buyer of $59M Getty penthouse

Robert F. Smith, a private equity executive, is the buyer of the roughly $59 million penthouse purchase at the Getty, the priciest deal that has closed in Downtown Manhattan.

Smith is based out of Austin, Texas, and serves as CEO of Vista Equity Partners, which focuses on software, data and tech investments, according to the Wall Street Journal. He was the first African-American chair of the Carnegie Hall board, and he and his family also own homes in California, Texas and New York.

The Real Deal previously wrote about the sale and identified the buyer as a private equity chief but did not have his name.

Smith paid slightly less than $6,000 per foot for the penthouse, which spans 10,000 square feet across the top three floors of the building at 501 West 24th Street, right by the High Line. The project also has 2,700 square feet of outdoor space, a private pool and two master bedrooms. It was designed by starchitect Peter Marino.

Victor Group and Michael Shvo developed the Getty, which has a total projected sellout of $146.5 million. It is the most expensive new boutique development to arrive on the West Side.

Smith’s deal broke the record previously held by the Walker Tower, where the penthouse sold in 2014 for $51 million. [WSJ] – Eddie Small