Billionaire Joe Tsai is ‘mystery shopper’ behind $ 157 million Manhattan apartment deal

Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai is the mystery buyer behind a $ 157 million apartment deal in Manhattan’s most prestigious condo tower, according to people familiar with the deal.

Tsai, who also owns the Brooklyn Nets NBA team, bought two single storey condominiums at 220 Central Park South in two deals totaling $ 157.5 million, according to people familiar with the deal. The purchase marks what would be the third most expensive home to ever sell in the United States. The most expensive house to ever sell in America is in the same building – the purchase of four floors (51 to 53) by Ken Griffin for $ 238 million in 2019.

Tsai’s purchase spans two floors (the 60th and one above) and offers stunning views of Central Park and downtown Manhattan. The case also includes a studio on the 18th floor, presumably for the staff.

Thanks in part to the Griffin purchase, as well as blue-chip buyers like Sting and Daniel Och, 220 Central Park South has continued to soar even during the pandemic, and is over 90% sold out. . The units Tsai bought both sold for more than their original sale price. The 61st floor sold for $ 51.4 million last year, while the 60th floor sold for $ 50.9 million.

A spokesperson for Tsai did not immediately comment.

The purchase comes at a sensitive time for Tsai and Alibaba. Alibaba shares have fallen by a third since October, and Chinese authorities are cracking down on the country’s big tech companies to limit their power and the reach of their data. Tsai’s Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma has largely withdrawn from public life after criticizing Chinese regulators and Beijing scuttled the initial public offering from its fintech giant Ant.

Tsai remains executive vice president and second shareholder of Alibaba. Tsai, which is worth around $ 10 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index.

Tsai was born in Taiwan, attended school in New Jersey, and lived and worked in New York City in the mid-1990s as a lawyer and private equity executive. After making his fortune in China at Alibaba, he divides his time between San Diego and Hong Kong. He holds Canadian and Hong Kong passports.

Tsai bought a minority stake in the Brooklyn Nets in 2017 and bought the rest of the team in 2019 as well as the operating rights to Barclay’s Center for a total of more than $ 3 billion. Tsai also sits on the board of directors of NBA China and owns New York Liberty of the WNBA.

Tsai attends Nets games often and told the New York Post that he plans to become more visible in New York after buying the team. “New York is an amazing city. I have an affinity for New York,” he told the Post in 2019. “My first job after law school was in New York. I met my wife here. . So New York for me is my second home. “

Now he will have an even bigger house for his second home.