This Russian billionaire bought a $135M penthouse in a building he developed — and for a discount

It looks like billionaire Vladislav Doronin couldn’t resist snapping up his own swanky penthouse at Aman New York’s Crown Building for a cool $135 million — marking the city’s priciest home sale so far in 2024. But here’s the kicker: That’s $45 million less than he initially had hoped to fetch for it.

Back in 2019, Doronin — whose OKO Group developed this project — said he had made a deal to sell the penthouse for a whopping $180 million to an Asian buyer. Fast forward five years, and Doronin himself is the one holding the keys to the lavish apartment, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Neither Doronin nor Aman’s reps responded to the Journal’s requests for comment.

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The penthouse, sitting atop the iconic Crown Building, sprawls over a massive 13,236 square feet with an additional 4,462 square feet of outdoor space. It comes with seven bedrooms and was delivered in an unfinished state.

OKO Group transformed the top floors of this historic 1920s building into luxury condos. Sales kicked off in 2018, with closings starting in 2022. The building is now fully sold out, with the 24th floor selling for $61.58 million and the 20th floor fetching $75.8 million.

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This isn’t Doronin’s only crib — far from it. The 61-year-old mogul owns a pad at the Time Warner Center in Manhattan, along with homes in Miami Beach, London, Ibiza and a unique Zaha Hadid-designed property outside Moscow.

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In 2019, Doronin hinted at his interest in the Crown Building, eyeing an $83.5 million unit for its superior amenities over his Time Warner apartment. “I have an apartment, but I am missing a fireplace and I’m missing a terrace,” he told the Journal.

Developers buying units in their own projects isn’t new, but Doronin’s purchase is definitely making waves, especially since it’s the city’s most prominent home sale since 2022 overall. As this current deal was for an unfinished unit, that explains the price drop.

Despite flooding the market with ultra-luxury condos, Doronin believed his project would “fly above the clouds” in New York’s crowded market.

“We say ‘If you don’t take a risk, you don’t drink champagne,’” he quipped.

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