New York's mansions in the sky

[JJNL]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33952040

OMG - you can buy a 100 million dollar apartment (part of a huge skyscraper) in NY! Why anybody able to afford that would not buy a smaller place then also relieve world hunger, buy a private island or construct a Bat Cave just for the heck of it is beyond me.

[sol]

Just to be clear, this thing doesn't actually exist yet, right?  This is a planned building?

[forummm]

Just to be clear, this thing doesn't actually exist yet, right?  This is a planned building?

No, these luxury apartment buildings actually exist. And some apartments are selling for $100 million. There may be more planned too. At least one guy isn't even going to live in his--it's just a toy and he may try to flip it later.

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/04/09/bill_ackmans_one57_penthouse_cost_a_nearrecord_915m.php

[patrickza]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33952040

OMG - you can buy a 100 million dollar apartment (part of a huge skyscraper) in NY! Why anybody able to afford that would not buy a smaller place then also relieve world hunger, buy a private island or construct a Bat Cave just for the heck of it is beyond me.

I just got back from a trip to France, including a day in Monaco. The harbour there is full of $100m plus yachts, almost all privately owned. You get the feeling that some people have so much money the price just isn't a factor anymore.

[Squirrel away]

I saw this yesterday on the news. It's fairly obnoxious.

[MgoSam]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33952040

OMG - you can buy a 100 million dollar apartment (part of a huge skyscraper) in NY! Why anybody able to afford that would not buy a smaller place then also relieve world hunger, buy a private island or construct a Bat Cave just for the heck of it is beyond me.

I just got back from a trip to France, including a day in Monaco. The harbour there is full of $100m plus yachts, almost all privately owned. You get the feeling that some people have so much money the price just isn't a factor anymore.

Hence the famous line about the price of a yacht, "If you have to ask you can't afford it."

[brooklynguy]

JJNL, I see you are from the Netherlands.

In one respect, as a landowner in New York, I view this city's increasingly outrageous concentration of nonportable wealth as its best protection against rising sea levels.  Our relatively high geographic vulnerability is partially offset by our enormous asset value at stake.  The powers that be will likely reengineer the earth before abandoning the city.

They say that God created the world, but the Dutch created Holland.  Similarly, the plutocrats might just save New York if and when the rising tides come to claim it.

[boyerbt]

While a $100 Million dollar home/apartment carries quite the price tag, each NYC property still can't hold a flame to Mumbai's Antilla...at 400,000 sq ft and valued at $1 BILLION it is pure insanity!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antilia_(building)

http://www.businessinsider.com/antilia-mumbai-most-expensive-house-mukesh-ambani-2012-5?op=1

[MgoSam]

While a $100 Million dollar home/apartment carries quite the price tag, each NYC property still can't hold a flame to Mumbai's Antilla...at 400,000 sq ft and calued at $1 BILLION it is pure insanity!

Yeah, I wouldn't spend nearly that much on a personal residence, but I will say that this is a guy that's worth over $20B, so clearly he can afford it.

[RFAAOATB]

In another way, if money were no object, why not buy the presidency?  If multi-millionaires have a leg up on running for office, why not billionaires?  Donald Trump hasn't imploded yet.  You know, I lean liberal and my brother leans conservative and volunteers for the Republican party.  If we had billions, we could fund our way to a senate seat for each of us before financing our presidential runs on opposite parties giving one of us a shot.

I guess being President is a lot of work for low pay, but wouldn't the status alone be worth it?

[zephyr911]

While a $100 Million dollar home/apartment carries quite the price tag, each NYC property still can't hold a flame to Mumbai's Antilla...at 400,000 sq ft and calued at $1 BILLION it is pure insanity!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antilia_(building)

http://www.businessinsider.com/antilia-mumbai-most-expensive-house-mukesh-ambani-2012-5?op=1

Everything about that building makes me angry, if the first article is accurate. They paid a fraction of FMV in a probably illegal sale from a charity, and after the sale was challenged, they paid a tiny fine to essentially get a waiver? Ugh
The helipads and car garage also violate local ordinance?
The shit you can get away with in this world if you're fabulously wealthy is obscene.

[MgoSam]

While a $100 Million dollar home/apartment carries quite the price tag, each NYC property still can't hold a flame to Mumbai's Antilla...at 400,000 sq ft and calued at $1 BILLION it is pure insanity!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antilia_(building)

http://www.businessinsider.com/antilia-mumbai-most-expensive-house-mukesh-ambani-2012-5?op=1

Everything about that building makes me angry, if the first article is accurate. They paid a fraction of FMV in a probably illegal sale from a charity, and after the sale was challenged, they paid a tiny fine to essentially get a waiver? Ugh
The helipads and car garage also violate local ordinance?
The shit you can get away with in this world if you're fabulously wealthy is obscene.

That's how shit gets done in India. Worst place to do business in my opinion. The only reason my company does business with people in India is because we have family there that are powerful, which ensures that we don't get screwed around by manufacturers....

[zephyr911]

That's how shit gets done in India. Worst place to do business in my opinion. The only reason my company does business with people in India is because we have family there that are powerful, which ensures that we don't get screwed around by manufacturers....

Know what's even worse? The building is a fugly-ass pile of shit. It's a billion-dollar dog turd on the skyline.

[nobodyspecial]

What's even worse is that the builders of the $100M are getting a $66M tax-break from the city by including some apartments in Bronx  in the deal to make it count as affordable housing.

http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21661009-how-citys-skyline-shaped-tax-breaks-towering-silliness

[flamingo25]

I'm afraid of heights. I would throw up if I had to wake up to that view every morning.

[MgoSam]

That's how shit gets done in India. Worst place to do business in my opinion. The only reason my company does business with people in India is because we have family there that are powerful, which ensures that we don't get screwed around by manufacturers....

Know what's even worse? The building is a fugly-ass pile of shit. It's a billion-dollar dog turd on the skyline.

I don't disagree. It looks a bit tacky, I read that part of the reason for the price tag is that every floor is completely different. Apparently they were inspired by the Mandarin Hotel in NYC.

If it were my money, I would like do something else with it..but alas it isn't.

[jinga nation]

That's how shit gets done in India. Worst place to do business in my opinion. The only reason my company does business with people in India is because we have family there that are powerful, which ensures that we don't get screwed around by manufacturers....

Desi Mafia? Bombay Triad? Kolkata Kriminals?

Have you seen photos of the Ambani multi-storey mansion in Mumbai? You can view all the slums you want from there. Source: atelier cousin who was contracted for custom art installations for Reliance Industries and the Ambanis.

[MgoSam]

That's how shit gets done in India. Worst place to do business in my opinion. The only reason my company does business with people in India is because we have family there that are powerful, which ensures that we don't get screwed around by manufacturers....

Desi Mafia? Bombay Triad? Kolkata Kriminals?

Have you seen photos of the Ambani multi-storey mansion in Mumbai? You can view all the slums you want from there. Source: atelier cousin who was contracted for custom art installations for Reliance Industries and the Ambanis.

Nothing like that at all. They are city leaders in the place where my company's owner grew up.

[mareofnight]

Why does the reporter keep emphasizing that some are owned by "investors" who won't live there themselves? He even says that this means the units won't count toward the city's supply of housing. Wouldn't the owners rent them out?

The one case I can think of where that would be valid, is a company buying an apartment to use as a hotel for the execs. Then the unit is trading off against the cost of hotels, not housing. (The company I work for has one of those, but it's in downtown Rochester. There's not much of a housing shortage here, and the hotel closest to work has had so many cases of drug use and prostitution that the city bought it to turn into something else, so I don't really blame them.)