LevLeviev

Leviev Rolls The Dice On Former NY Times Building

The other day I wrote about the troubles facing diamond billionaire and property investor Lev Leviev. But don't count the Israeli billionaire out yet. His Africa-Israel company has announced new plans for the former New York Times Building on West 43rd Street in New York City. Leviev bought the building in 2007 for the ridiculous price of $525 million and then announced he would be turning it into high-price office building spending $170 million in the process. But then the commercial market dipped and offices were unoccupied.

Now, as the NY Times reports, Leviev's latest plan is to take that 15-story building and turn it into a consumer palace with retail space that includes restaurants, shops, a bowling alley and nightclub. That would be topped by a high-end hotel and crowned by penthouse condos. The NY Times' Charles Bagli questions whether or not this plan will be any more successful than the last one given New York City's lackluster tourism and real estate markets. But Leviev is by nature a gambler and risk taker and selling condos and hotel space is a bit akin to selling diamonds, it's all about the dream and perceived value. And what better place for dreams than Times Square?

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Lev Leviev Seeks To Restructure, Hopes For The Best

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

Things haven't been so sparkly lately for diamantaire Lev Leviev. The Israeli billionaire has seen his fortune plummet in recent months. Back in August he told reporters that he would restructure about $2 billion of debt.

Leviev's downfall wasn't diamonds, it was real estate. He invested heavily in the New York City real estate boom. Now Leviev, who made his fortune in the diamond cutting and polishing industry is trying to reach an agreement with the creditors chasing his Africa-Israel company in a bid to stave off having to file for bankruptcy. Bloomberg News reports that a recent proposal presented to the court on Dec. 2 would cut Leviev's personal stake in the company from to 53 percent from 75 percent and he will spend $200 million of his own money shoring up the company.

But let's not feel too sorry for Leviev. He still has plenty of money, lives in a lavish mansion in London and has weathered tough times before. His best hope for a fast financial recovery may come from Russia where he has also heavily invested. In the Bloomberg article, Yuval Ben-Zeev, an analyst at Clal Finance Brokerage Ltd., says that Leviev's recovery depends on Russia and specifically the Mall of Moscow.

Leviev's own high-handed behavior may affect the court's decision on his status as controlling shareholder of Africa Israel. According to an article in Haaretz, Judge Varda Alshech didn't take too kindly to the fact that Leviev had repaid some private debt to banks skirting around the bondholders. Alsech said that any money that hadn't been transferred already should not be and chided the company for pleading insolvency and saying it could not pay bondholders while going on to repay other creditors.

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Tags: diamonds, israel, lev leviev, LevLeviev, real estate, RealEstate, russia

Protesters Urge Leviev Diamonds Boycott

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Those hoping to dash into the Leviev store on Madison Avenue in New York City on Saturday found themselves running a bit of a gauntlet. National Jeweler reports that around 45 pro-Palestinian protesters clustered outside the store urging shoppers to boycott the jewelry store, which is owned by Israeli diamond king Lev Leviev. The group, Adalah-NY has protested in front of Leviev's store seven times since it opened last November (the pieces shown above were displayed during the store opening). They chose last Saturday to make their case to shoppers on a pre-Valentine's day shopping quest. The group says that Leviev, who is also a real estate developer, is building Israeli settlements on what they claim is occupied Palestinian land. Protesters also boycotted outside Leviev's London store (perhaps a more cutting blow since Leviev recently moved to London.

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Tags: boycott, expire-images:2009-2-11, israel, lev leviev, LevLeviev, new york, palestine, protest

Diamond Billionaire's Posh London Home

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that diamond billionaire Lev Leviev was switching his main residence to London. It looks like he's found a place to call home sweet home and it just happens to be the most expensive new property ever sold in Britain. Leviev's new house in Hampstead, North-West London cost him £35million. The house will be home to Leviev, his wife Olga and two of his nine children. The home's luxurious features include a cinema, a nightclub, hair salon, an armor-plated front door and an indoor pool that turns into a ballroom with the touch of a button. The house was designed by architect William Bertram of Bath and was originally built for property developer Mansour Namaki, who decided to move to Regent's Park instead. The Telegraph has more pictures of the home including the indoor pool and a £750,000 stone staircase.

[Thanks, Lana]

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Tags: estate, hampstead, lev leviev, LevLeviev, london, luxury real estate, LuxuryRealEstate

Israel's Richest Man Moves to London, Sells Plane

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Celebrity Shopping

Israel's richest man, diamond billionaire, Lev Leviev, is moving to London. Uzbek-born Leviev is said to be making the move with his family in order to focus on the growth of AFI Development, the Russian property unit of Leviev's Africa Israel Investments. AFI raised $1.4 billion in May for its IPS but has since lost about 35 percent in trading on the London Stock exchange. Leviev is taking over as the AFI Development chairman.

In a related story, it has also been reported that he is looking to get a larger private jet. He has sold his Gulfstream Galaxy executive jet to Noam Lanir, the CEO of Livermore Investments Group Ltd. for $10-15 million. Leviev has homes in Moscow, Bnei Brak, New York and London so he's got quite the commute. Rumor has it that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, a man once rumored to have bought the Airbus A380 for private use, may have already helped Leviev chose his new ride.

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Tags: gulfstream galaxy, israel, lev leviev, LevLeviev, london, private jet

Lev Leviev Plans New York Store

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Russian diamond upstart Lev Leviev is set to take on the big brands like Graff and Harry Winston. WWD covers Leviev's plans to open a new 6,200-square-foot store in New York next month. The store will be located near rivals such as Graff, Chopard, de Grisogono, Kwiat and Fred Leighton. The new store will have over 4,000 carats of diamonds and gemstones on hand including a wide variety of specialty pieces with high price tags such as the distinctive diamond scarf, a swath of yellow and white diamonds set so that they move like cloth . Leviev is also getting into the watch business. Lev Leviev is also helping to create a special tourbillon movement.

The article chronicles Leviev's fascinating past. He started in the business at age 15 as a diamond polisher and eventually developed a new method of laser cutting diamonds. He owns his own mines thereby escaping the rather tight system of supply and demand. This lets him control every aspect of the life of a diamond from the mine to the store. Leviev doesn't have the name recognition of some of the other big players in the game but he does have the baubles to insure a steady stream of wealthy clients.

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Tags: diamonds, jewelry, lev leviev, LevLeviev, new york