Once the richest man in the world, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has relisted his remarkable New York City mansion with an eye-watering asking price of US$80 million (AU$112 million). Known as Benjamin Duke House, construction started on the Beaux-Arts style building in 1899 during America’s Gilded Age and today it remains one of the only Central Park-facing mansions in New York City – hence the incredible price it seeks.
Standing seven stories tall and containing no less than eight bedrooms and ten bathrooms, the building is instantly recognisable thanks to its exposed brick and limestone facade and features the grand proportions you’d expect from such a property, including soaring ceilings, elegant marble fireplaces and peerless views. The Benjamin Duke House remained in the Duke family from 1901 until 2006 when it was purchased by the American real estate mogul Tamir Sapir, who went on to sell the mansion to Slim in 2010 for US$40 million.
Only half a decade later Slim put the property on the market with an asking price that was double what he paid for it, but after failing to sell it in 2015 has relisted the property with the New York real estate agent Jorge Lopez. Prices at the top end of town have moved a lot in the last seven years, which might make Benjamin Duke House a more compelling buy today than when it was originally listed by Slim, but if it does sell for the $80 million (AU$112 million) asking price it will be one of the most expensive private residences ever sold in New York City.
