At the end of June, the luxury real estate world was buzzing with excitement over a rumor about the penthouse of a building located at 432 Park Avenue in New York City. If the rumor was to be believed, the penthouse's billionaire owner, a Saudi tycoon who rarely set foot in the penthouse, was thinking of putting the property up for sale at a hair-raising asking price.
Well, the rumor came true. The penthouse of 432 Park Ave just hit the market for…
$169 million
We covered this story when it was still a rumor back on June 29. In case you missed that article, the penthouse of 432 Park is being sold by a Saudi billionaire named Fawaz Al Hokair. Fawaz bought the penthouse in 2016 for $87.7 million which was the fifth-most expensive real estate purchase of that year.
Real estate records show that Fawaz took out a $56 million mortgage to buy the property. Assuming an interest rat of 4.5% (which was the going rate at the time), one could presume that Fawaz is paying around $300,000 per month just on his mortgage. That's before property taxes, HOA and insurance costs. Speaking of which…
According to the property's MLS listing:
- Property taxes will come to around $124,000 per MONTH!
- HOA fees will set you back $24,000 per MONTH!
- Insurance will cost $60,000 PER MONTH.
FYI, if a new owner puts down 30% on $169 million, their monthly all-in costs (assuming a 4% interest rate) will be…
$780,000
What do you get for $50 million down and $9 million in annual carrying costs? The most incredible penthouse apartment in New York City, maybe the world. Certainly the best master bathroom and bathtub ever.
With 8,255 square-feet of living space spread across the entire 96th floor of the building, the unit has 360-degree views of Manhattan. In addition to its six bedrooms, nine bathrooms and library the unit has a 93-foot-long living/dining room.
The unit's exterior is made up of 24 windows that each measure exactly 10 feet by 10 feet, for 240 linear feat of views.
Here's a video tour. Make sure you check out the bathtub/master bathroom at 4:34:
How Did Fawaz Al Hokair Become A Billionaire?
In the late 1980s, Fawaz and his two brothers founded a retail business in Saudi Arabia. Literally just a humble men's clothing store.
Fast forward to the present and the Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Group owns 19 shopping malls in Saudi Arabia. Perhaps more importantly, the company owns the exclusive right to operate franchises for the following brands in Saudi Arabia:
- Zara
- Banana Republic
- Nine West
- Topshop
That's how Fawaz and his brothers each are worth around $1.5 billion.
