Mexico’s Richest Billionaire – Carlos Slim – Lists Largest Townhouse in NYC at $80 Million

Billionaire Carlos Slim, the richest person in Mexico, appears to be trying to find a buyer for his huge, historic New York City townhouse. His 20,000-square-foot mansion on the Upper East Side is listed at an asking price of $80 million. This is the same price he listed the property for in 2015.

At the time, the $80 million asking price was enough to make this townhouse the most expensive in the city, and interestingly, that will still be the case in 2023. If Carlos Slim finds a buyer for his $80 million, the home will be the most expensive townhouse ever sold in New York.

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Record prices aren’t the only records a property holds. The townhouse is also the largest such residence in the city. The “All NYC” YouTube channel ranked the property as the #3 most important mansion in all of Manhattan. Here’s their video breakdown, queuing up to #3.

Carlos Slim, also known as Duke Semans Mansion, Benjamin N. and Sarah Duke House, purchased the property for $44 million in 2010 from oil tycoon Tamir Sapir. In a strange twist, this property’s official listing on Zillow tells a different story. However, according to the most commonly accepted account, Slim is indeed the owner of the property.

Either way, the listing describes the house itself in great detail.

“The so grand and so beautiful 1009 Fifth Avenue, built in 1901 and designed by the Welch, Smith and Probot firm, was built in the Beaux-Arts style that it is rightfully considered an architectural masterpiece. The mansion stands as a marvel, an example of the extraordinary workmanship of its time and one of the few remaining on the Gold Coast on Fifth Avenue.”

Stacked high over eight stories, it features “soaring ceilings, hand-carved wood paneling, lovely trompe l’oeil accents, gilded fixtures and intricate plaster friezes” and a whopping 25 bedrooms and 10 Rooms are equipped with bathrooms. It’s a great property, if not a very precious location. And if Carlos Slim gets his wish, it will soon become the most expensive townhouse in the entire city.