Hedge Fund Tycoon Hunter Scans Choice Properties

Ken Griffin

US billionaire hedge funds, Ken Griffin, set a record for the most expensive home ever sold in the US with the purchase of a $ 238 million penthouse in New York just days after buying a house in London in the amount of 95 million pounds Buckingham Palace.

The founder and CEO of global investment company Citadel bought the Manhattan penthouse in a building under construction, 220 Central Park South. The apartment, an area of ​​about 24,000 square feet (2,200 square meters), will give him a place to stay when he will work in New York, said a spokesman for Citadel.

"He's really a global trophy hunter and he bought what would probably be the number one building in New York," said Olshan Realty President Donna Olshan.

Mr. Griffin is no stranger to multi-million dollar homes. He bought several floors of a Chicago condominium this year for $ 58.75 million (216 million dirhams), setting a record for the most expensive home ever purchased in Chicago. In 2015, he bought a penthouse in Miami for $ 60 million (220 million dirhams), setting the record for a condo in Miami.

The London house he acquired 200 years ago and acquired earlier this month overlooks St. James's Park and houses Charles de Gaulle's private office during the Second World War. According to the Financial Times, it paid less than the original asking price of 145 million pounds and less than the price of 125 million pounds offered over the past two years.

"It's an iconic property with a great history," said Charles McDowell, founder of Charles McDowell Properties. "He picked up for a discount. For people who have money, there are real buying opportunities in London. "

Real estate developer Mike Spink has redeveloped the historic Georgian house as part of a joint venture with Evans Randall Investors. The 20,000-square-foot house (approximately 1,900 square meters) includes a gym, swimming pool and underground extension.

Mr. Griffin has a $ 9.6 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the 500 richest people in the world.

Mukesh Ambani

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man, will tackle the world's biggest retailers by launching an online shopping platform in the next 12 to 18 months in India, according to sources close to the file.

Ambani will combine its Jio telecom service, mobile devices and an extensive network of physical outlets to launch the new offline-to-online platform for 1.2 million retailers and store owners in Western India. This project is part of an ambitious plan to compete with Amazon and Walmart Flipkart in the world's largest online commerce market.

Jio currently has 280 million telecommunications subscribers, while Ambani's retail business operates nearly 10,000 outlets in more than 6,500 Indian cities and towns.

"Jio and Reliance Retail will launch a new unique business platform to empower and enrich our 12 lakh [1.2 million] small retailers and traders in Gujarat, "said Reliance president.

Trials of the company's new initiatives are underway in six cities, including Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore.

As the initiative grows, Reliance Industries will seek to recruit more neighborhood family stores – which represent approximately 90% of the retail landscape in India – as distribution and distribution centers. some products available on its mobile platform, the people said.

Mike Ashley

Mike Ashley, the British billionaire owner of the Sports Direct International retailer and the Newcastle United football club, has launched an offer to buy the distressed music retailer HMV Group, according to a person close to the situation.

HMV began insolvency proceedings last month for the second time in six years, as physical registrations became outdated in favor of streaming music online. If Ashley's candidacy is accepted, he will further strengthen his grip on UK purchases after rescuing House of Fraser chain stores last year. He also holds significant holdings in Debenhams, Game Digital and French Connection Group.

The offer is one of the many offers of the music and entertainment chain, which has 125 stores in the UK and employs 2,025 people. They are set to stay open while offers are reviewed, according to the KPMG administrator.

Mr. Ashley is reviewing the offers for a number of distressed retailers, but is "serious" about the purchase of HMV, according to Sky News.

Jeffrey Gundlach

The managing director of DoubleLine Capital, Jeffrey Gundlach, said in a tweet that he would delete his Twitter account "due to suspicious activity". The suspicious activities mentioned by Mr Gundlach are unclear.

The billionaire bond fund manager is known for his frank opinions, often using his @TruthGundlach Twitter account to express his opinions. In December, he described Deutsche Bank AG as a "sick puppy" and earlier this month he commented on "Hmmm" after Netflix and, incidentally, his local breakfast had raised prices for the first time since years.

Mr. Gundlach has had heated relations with many media outlets. He said in a December tweet that he would no longer be appearing on CNBC, accusing Jim Cramer, who hosts the "Mad Money" program of the network, and said the investor should "get into trouble." stick to bonds "after making comments on the stock market. .

Mr. Gundlach is not the only official responsible for giving up social media. The baron of the press, Rupert Murdoch, who joined Twitter for the first time in December 2011 and who was quite prolific, is no longer active since February 2017. Elon Musk also said that he would stay on Twitter a few days after his comments on the privatization of Tesla. returned.

Jose Isaac Peres

Brazilian developer Jose Isaac Peres is investing millions of dollars to build residential projects in Miami Beach, Florida, while calling "paranoia" sea-level rise due to climate change.

The real estate mogul and chief executive of Multiplan, one of the largest shopping center operators in Brazil, plans to build 81 units at 57 Ocean, where the price of the attic will be 31 million. dollars (114 million dirhams). He is also seeking permission to build another condo project, a four-story development on Ocean Drive.

Asked about the threat of rising sea levels, he said: "It's funny, this is the last concern I have in Miami, this issue of global warming."

Mr. Peres, who makes major investments in Miami Beach for the first time in nearly two decades, said climate change has never had repercussions on banks and insurance companies in Brazil. .

"You are prone to paranoia, you know?", He said, suggesting that Americans are more committed to studying climate change than Brazilians. "You see a ghost and you pursue it as it's real." Still, Peres did not totally ignore global warming, instead of saying that he did not think it was going to happen "as fast as people imagine it".