Philanthropist
Julia Koch, the widow of billionaire industrialist David Koch, is looking to
sell the couple’s Manhattan apartment for roughly $60 million or more.
Mrs. Koch, 59, has
been quietly shopping the 18-room duplex at 740 Park Avenue, one of New York’s
most exclusive addresses, her spokesman said, because she has been spending
more time at her homes in Southampton and Palm Beach.
In 2018, the
Kochs also purchased a Manhattan townhouse for $40.25 million, records
show.
Mr. Koch, who
died in 2019, bought the co-op at 740 Park from the Japanese government, which
had used it as a residence for its United Nations representative, according to
the book “740 Park: The Story of the World’s Richest Apartment Building” by
Michael Gross. Mr. Koch paid about $17 million in 2004, beating out billionaire
Leonard Blavatnik, who had a contract on the property, the book said. “I took
it out from under his nose,” Mr. Koch told Mr. Gross.
Designed by
architect Rosario Candela, 740 Park was built around 1930 and has about 30
units. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis lived there a child; wealthy families like
the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and Bronfmans have also lived there, according to
Mr. Gross’ book.
Last year,
former Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin sold an apartment in the Upper East
Side building for $22.5 million to Lacey Tisch, records show. Hedge-funder
Israel Englander owns a co-op there, which he purchased for $71.3 million in
2014, according to records.
Mr. Koch’s
fortune was tied to his family’s business, Wichita, Kan.-based Koch Industries,
where he was an executive vice president until his retirement in 2018. He used
his vast wealth to back conservative political causes and candidates, according
to an obituary in The Wall Street Journal.
Mrs. Koch is
president of the David H. Koch Foundation, a nonprofit that supports medical
research, education and the arts, according to the foundation’s website.
Leighton
Candler of the Corcoran Group is marketing the property.
0 comments:
Post a Comment