Chicago hedge-fund titan Ken Griffin made waves after shelling out a record-breaking $238 million for multiple units inside the exclusive 220 Central Park South tower in New York City in 2019. These days, one of his neighbors is giving him a run for his money.
The Hong Kong-based Blue Pool Capital, an investment advisory firm that holds a portion of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Joe Tsai and Jack Ma’s fortunes, has been revealed as the new owner of hedge-fund billionaire Dan Och’s penthouse, which sold last week for $188 million.
Bloomberg broke news of Blue Pool’s ownership, adding that the firm took out a $71.5 million 30-year mortgage through JPMorgan Chase & Co. for the 73rd-floor spread and a maid’s room on a lower level.
Tsai, the executive vice chairman of Alibaba — an e-commerce company — is no stranger to the Robert A.M. Stern-designed building, which fronts Central Park from its southwest corner. In 2021, he splashed out $157.5 million total for two full-floor units in separate transactions. Those apartments span the 60th and 61st floors.
With this most recent purchase, Tsai now has his hands on some $345 million worth of real estate inside the tower.
Adding to the purchase’s prominence, it earned Och a substantial profit on his resale. Och, now living in Florida for tax reasons, spent $93 million in 2019 for the nearly 10,000-square-foot, four-bedroom residence — more than doubling his money.
If that substantial flip wasn’t enough, one of the units in Tsai’s 2021-purchased combo also earned a pretty penny. Initially sold in February 2020 for $51.42 million, Tsai swept snagged that 61st-floor unit for an even $75 million, making for a $23.57 million gain. Between 2017 and 2021, that was the city’s highest-priced flip, according to data provided by StreetEasy.
220 Central Park South, nearly sold out, has already surpassed more than $1 billion in sales, and is known as one of the city’s most successful new residential developments.
Born in Taiwan and with Canadian citizenship, Tsai also owns a 49% stake in the Brooklyn Nets basketball team. He’s worth $7.4 billion.