Red Tag Day
The New York Observer’s Max Abelson reports a first —a price chop at 740 Park Avenue. The late June Speight’s apartment is now on offer for $26 million — $9 million off its original asking price. Run, don’t walk. to get in on this humungous bargain!
Walter Noel’s Getaway
As the head of a feeder fund that helped sustain Bernard Madoff‘s alleged Ponzi scheme, Walter Noel got very, very rich — so rich, he was able to build Yemanja (above), a hilltop house the size of a boutique hotel for himself and his family (with eight bedrooms, two bunkhoues for children and staff housing, […]
Commissions, please
Attention all residents of 740 Park: According to Kelvin Browne in today’s National Post of Canada, while apartments in other east side buildings lose their value, yours “continue to command premium prices,” Peter Huang‘s long-on-the-market duplex is now in contract and it’s all thanks to 740 Park, the book. So I hope that when John […]
The rich get poorer
John Thain, the former head of Merrill Lynch, lost his new-ish job with Bank of America today, after it discovered large losses at the brokerage that it bought a few weeks back. Thain, who was running the New York Stock Exchange when he bought the smallest but most beautiful penthouse at 740 Park as a […]
Back in the spotlight… again
New York’s Daily News and England’s Guardian both peeked past the doormen at 740 Park today. The News focused on Ezra Merkin, the whipping boy du jour for the Great Recession. The Guardian piece fascinates me more because back when 740 Park was first published, no British publisher would take it on. Their reason? Or […]
What Goes Around Turns Around
Every once in a while, people get angry with journalists and authors who write about them. John Casablancas, the founder of Elite Models, was livid when my book Model: The Ugly Business of Beautiful Women was published and even threatened to sue me over my portrayal of his life and times. So imagine my surprise […]
Jerkin’ Merkin and Mad Matt
James Doran of the New York Post reports that New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has 740 Park resident Ezra Merkin in his sights, and is weighing an investigation of his role in Bernard Madoff‘s massive Ponzi scheme. Oddly, although lots of people are wondering what the co-op board and neighbors at 740 are […]
drip… drip… drip
The slow-mo Bernie Madoff-feuled unraveling of the world of 740 Park’s J. Ezra Merkin (above) continues, says the Financial Times, which reports that Merkin is about to step down as chairman of GMAC, General Motors’ financing arm, following a government bail-out. Several reporters have checked in with Gripebox in the last 48 hours, working on […]
“To Learn About The Past”
Thomas Campbell, the new director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, meets the public via YouTube. He doesn’t say much, but hey, it’s his first week on the job. So he’s probably too busy to delve into his institution’s own past, but luckily, someone has done that for him. Rogues’ Gallery: The Secret History of […]
One Falls, One Rises
Two residents of 740 Park have made financial news in recent days. But as Ezra Merkin‘s luster dimmed due to his central role in the alleged Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, Steven Mnuchin‘s future brightened as he put together a team of “a lot of Wall Street’s ‘smartest money,’” according to the Wall Street Journal (online […]