A trust tied to late TV host Phil Donahue and his wife Marlo Thomas found a buyer for their longtime Upper East Side co-op.
The unit at 875 Fifth Avenue sold for $33.5 million, according to public records. The buyer’s identity was shielded by a trust, with attorneys Jonathan Moses and Kevin Schwartz of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz listed as trustees.
The duplex penthouse unit appears to have traded in an off-market deal. Built in 1941, the property is among the prestigious Manhattan co-ops by renowned pre-war architect Emery Roth, along with the San Remo and the Beresford on Central Park West.
The sale marks the second priciest closing of a New York City co-op so far this year, trailing the $38 million deal by billionaire hedge funder Ken Griffin for a penthouse duplex at 740 Park Avenue. Griffin’s identity was initially shielded by a shell company in public records tied to the off-market deal, which closed in April, but was revealed a week after the deal closed as the newest resident of the property known as the city’s “richest building.”
Donahue, the creator and host of the eponymous talk show that ran from 1967 to 1996, passed away in 2024 at the age of 88. Thomas, 88, is an actress best known for her role in the sitcom series “That Girl”, which ran from 1966 to 1971.
The pair were behind a waterfront property in the tony Connecticut enclave of Westport that sold for a record $45 million last year. Donahue and Thomas built a 10,000-square-foot shingle-style home overlooking the Long Island Sound in 2007, before selling the property in 2013. The estate, which includes 400 feet of water frontage, was combined with another parcel for the record deal.
Manhattan’s co-op market started the year on a strong note, with the average sale price for the property type growing 8 percent from the fourth quarter of 2025 to just over $1.4 million, according to data by appraiser and The Real Deal contributor Jonathan Miller.
Last week, co-ops beat out condos among Manhattan’s signed contracts for homes asking over $4 million. The borough saw 12 signed deals for co-ops compared to 10 for condos, for the first time since the end of September 2022, according to Compass’ weekly report.
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