...an Epilogue...
to Goldlilocks Does Beverly Hills.
You may remember when Goldilocks turned her pre-surgery nose up at the chance to purchase Rihanna's abandoned digs...
..but clearly not everyone felt the same way about this property, which has now been sold. The owner is listed as the Vladimir Rumenniks Trust. So far I can't trace with certainty exactly who Mr. Rumenniks might be, although there is a Russian baritone named Vladimir Rumennic. If Mr. Rumennik/c is one and the same, I certainly hope his talent with a hammer matches his vocal skills because he clearly has his work cut out for him. And I'm guessing he secured the house in a bidding war, as he paid more than $500,000 over the asking price. Either that, or long days at the conservatory prevented him from attending math class.
And he's far from being the only Russian burying cash in Ameican real estate, as evidenced by Yuri Milner, who paid ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS recently for this....
And he's far from being the only Russian burying cash in Ameican real estate, as evidenced by Yuri Milner, who paid ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS recently for this....
...cozy little complex in Los Altos, California. But even more astounding was the recent purchase in Manhattan, of the penthouse at 15 Central Park West...
..by Eketarina Rybolovlea, a 22 year old college student and heiress to a Russian fertilizer fortune. Young Ms. Rybolovlea paid 88 MILLION DOLLARS for the 6,700 square foot penthouse. That breaks down to around $13,000 per square foot. I'm taking a guess here, that being known as a fertilizer heiress may cause one to slightly overcompensate when shopping. Exactly which American college she attends is being kept secret; let's hope it's some place ivy covered and that she's not an economics major. And who knows? Maybe she's planning on having roommates. She bought her pied-a-terre...
...from Sanford Weill who, judging from this picture, enjoys having a sculpture or two in his entry foyer. Mr. Weill was formerly head, at varying times, of Shearson, American Express and Citigroup. Four years ago, as the first owner of the apartment, he paid $42,000,000 for it, so he's done quite nicely for himself. Actually, he maintains he is donating the proceeds to charity, which is certainly a step up from donating your 20 year old Honda Civic to NPR. Years ago he attended Cornell and, again I'm guessing here, clearly attended an econ. class or two.
But the bigger picture here is not the Russians finally coming to take over the United States, if piece by piece and having to pay for it, but the fact that foreign investment in U.S. real estate, including in Los Angeles, is peaking. Nor is this a new phenomenon.
In the mid 1980's, when I first started working in real estate in Manhattan, a number of new buildings went up when New York eased its condominium laws. At that point, like now, when various foreign economies were wavering, individual investors were coming in and buying packages of new apartments, not because they had a desire to become landlords, but because they wanted a safe place to store their cash and have its value grow. Which is exactly what it did-apartments purchased then for $500,000 are now worth 3 to 5 times that. Each year I could figure out which country's economy was getting shaky by who was buying up the apartments.
All of which boils down to two very simple, clear messages: this is the time to buy and premium U.S. real estate is an optimum place to park your money.
By the way- Ms. Rybolovlea's father, Dimitry, happens to be in the middle of a very contentious divorce, his wife having accused him of 'serial infidelity' (wasn't that TV Guide's weekly description of "Dallas"?). Estimates are that her settlement could be anywhere from 3 to 6 billion dollars. Should you run into her and discover she's also looking to buy, don't hesitate to give her my number.
Jamie Foreman
