Hedge funder John Griffin is the buyer behind a record-breaking $77 million townhouse deal that closed this week.
The founder of Blue Ridge Capital, who got his start at famed investor Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management, purchased the mansion from financier Philip Falcone and his wife, Lisa, Bloomberg reported.
The Falcones purchased the double-wide property for $49 million in 2008 from Penthouse magazine founder Bob Guccione. They reportedly spent millions of dollars on a massive renovation that expanded it to 30,000 square feet and added a swimming pool and theater to its basement. The deal closed on Tuesday, records show.
The previous townhouse record was set in 2006, when financier J. Christopher Flowers paid $53 million for the Harkness mansion on East 75th Street.
Falcone had been quietly shopping the house with the Modlin Group’s Adam Modlin. Brown Harris Stevens’ Sami Hassoumi represented the buyer.
The deal was the second record set this week. Amazon chief Jeff Bezos set a Downtown record with the purchase of three units at 212 Fifth Avenue for roughly $80 million.
[Bloomberg] — E.B. Solomont
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