doris duke

World's Richest Man Buys Duke-Semans Mansion for $44 Million

Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim, who beat out Warren Buffet and Bill Gates to capture the title of World's Richest Man earlier this year with an astonishing net worth of $53.5 billion, has purchased the stunning Duke-Semans Mansion in New York for a cool $44 million. As we reported back in January, cab driver-turned-fertilizer king Tamir Sapir had listed the palatial townhouse, said to be the only private mansion left on Fifth Avenue, for $50 million. According to the Wall St. Journal, Slim cut the deal to snag it for $6 million less with Sapir directly. Sapir bought the historic seven-story Beaux Arts mansion located across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art from relatives of Doris Duke for $40 million in 2006. The 20,000-square-foot mansion, built in 1901, currently has a doctor's office in the basement, a five-story main residence, a penthouse duplex on top, 12 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, and 11 wood-burning fireplaces.

Gallery: Duke Semans Mansion

Tags: billionaire, Carlos Slim, celebrity real estate, Doris Duke, Duke Semans Mansion, Duke-Semans Mansion, Fifth Avenue, mansion, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mexico, New York, New York City, real estate, Tamir Sapir, worlds richest man

NY Billionaire's Yacht Seized Over Endangered Animals

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Wealth, Crimes and Misdemeanors

A $26 million yacht with Versace interiors owned by cab driver-turned-fertilizer king Tamir Sapir - who lives in Manhattan's famed Duke-Semans mansion (above) - was seized by customs officials in Miami this week over trophies made from the skins of endangered animals. The yacht, named the Mystère, was found to contain zebra skins, a jaguar skin rug, Bengal tiger and African lion heads, cigar boxes covered in elephant hide, a reticulated python cigarette holder, and large carved ivory tusks, the Miami Herald reports.

Sapir, an emigré from Russia whose $1.4 billion fortune is now mainly invested in real estate, will get the yacht back minus the gruesome décor after paying a $150,000 fine. Sapir bought the historic seven-story Duke-Semans mansion across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art from Doris Duke's relatives for $40 million after a single walk-through, and is now said to be spending $10 million on renovations including - get this - a gallery for his world-class collection of ivory. He is ranked at No. 522 on Forbes' Richest Americans list.

Tags: animal skins, AnimalSkins, billionaires, Doris Duke, DorisDuke, Duke-Semans mansion, Duke-semansMansion, endangered species, EndangeredSpecies, Forbes, Miami, Tamir Sapir, TamirSapir, yacht

Doris Duke Belongings Up For Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

Beautiful and eccentric Doris Duke was once the world's richest woman and her belongings have beget many an auction since her death in 1993. The latest is a two-day auction of property from her estate being held by Millea Bros. Ltd. Auctions & Appraisals at the Morristown Armory in Morristown, N.J. The auction will include 846 lots of objects that Doris Duke collected and lived with, including pieces from her collections of European furniture and decorative objects, silver, fine art, carpets, Asian art, lighting, draperies, statuary and automobiles. The auction's lots are created in an arrangement based on the Main Residence at Duke Farms. The auction catalog groups items under categories from the Crystal Room to the Hollywood Wing. Prices range from the inexpensive like the silver corncob holders should go for under $30 to to a pair of French Bronze torchieres by Val d'Osne foundries which are estimated to go for up to $12,000. Proceeds will benefit the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation which issues grants to support the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and other causes.

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Tags: auction, doris duke, DorisDuke, duke farms, DukeFarms

The Homes of America's Billionaires

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Wealth

As an adjunct to their just-released annual list of the 400 richest Americans, Forbes has included a special report on the homes of some of the billionaires who made the cut. Capping the account is of course Bill Gates, who tops the 400 with his $57 billion fortune. It's hard to say exactly how much his high-tech 66,000-sq.-ft. house on Lake Washington near Seattle is worth. The property includes a 60-foot swimming pool with an underwater music system, a domed library with two "secret" bookcase doors and a 1,000-square-foot dining room, the mag notes.

Also featured: the historic seven-story Duke-Semans mansion (above) in Manhattan owned by cab driver-turned-mogul Tamir Sapir (net worth $1.9 billion), who bought it from Doris Duke's relatives for $40 million after a single walk-through. He's now said to be spending $10 million on renovations. And then there's Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison's (net worth $27 billion) 23-acre estate in Woodside, Calif., "reminiscent of a 16th-century imperial Japanese palace" which reportedly cost over $100 million to build. You can see a slideshow of these megamansions and more here.

Tags: Bill Gates, BillGates, Doris Duke, DorisDuke, Forbes, Larry Ellison, LarryEllison, New York, NewYork, Seattle, Tamir Sapir, TamirSapir