Ryan Serhant Gave Me an Private Tour of America’s Most Expensive Home
- A penthouse in Manhattan skyscraper 432 Park Ave. is the most expensive home for sale in America.
- Saudi tycoon Fawaz Al Hokair, who never lived there, wants $169 million — almost twice what he paid.
- Top broker Ryan Serhant took Insider through the breathtaking spread for a behind-the-scenes tour.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
Ryan Serhant gazes through an oversize window at million-dollar views — actually, that’s $169 million views.
The top real-estate broker and “Million Dollar Listing” star is selling the Saudi tycoon Fawaz Al Hokair’s 96th-floor New York City penthouse. The six-bedroom, seven-bathroom spread sits atop 432 Park Ave., a midtown Manhattan skyscraper just blocks from the Plaza, Bergdorf Goodman, and Bloomingdale’s that is the tallest completed residential building in the Western Hemisphere.
The 8,255-square-foot condo — which the retail and property magnate Al Hokair bought for $87.7 million and never lived in — became the most expensive home for sale in the country when it hit the market in July.
“There’s no other apartment where I can stand at the dining room table and see Central Park and lower Manhattan at the same time,” Serhant told Insider, squinting across the 93-foot dining room, its long table set with Hermès flatware, to views of the Empire State Building. “There’s nothing else like it.”
The palatial pad isn’t the only one with impressive stats. Serhant, 37, has sold over $4 billion worth of real estate. Posting photos of prime properties in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles, he’s lured over 1.5 million followers on Instagram and 1.15 million subscribers on YouTube. The energetic entrepreneur launched his own eponymous brokerage firm last year. He titled his most recent book “Big Money Energy: How To Rule at Work, Dominate at Life, and Make Millions.”
And make millions he will — if 432 Park’ Ave.’s penthouse sells for its stratospheric asking price. (Buyer’s and seller’s brokers make a standard 3% commission each, paid by the seller.)
Last week, Serhant took me and the Insider photographer Crystal Cox on a private tour. He pointed out the most impressive details of the apartment, explained what it was like to live in the building, and shared some glimpses into his journey to find a buyer.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
Friendly staff call a private elevator down to the spacious lobby of 432 Park Ave., which opens onto East 56th Street. The elevator itself has comfortable bench seating and no buttons. My ears popped as it rocketed up to the 96th floor in less than 90 seconds.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
We stepped out of the elevator onto a private landing, where Serhant, 6-foot-3, opened the penthouse door to 12.5-foot ceilings, views of the city, and a custom-made Blüthner piano. Blüthners can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and this one-of-a-kind model is engraved with a brass plate that reads “Penthouse 96.”
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
432 Park Ave., designed by the Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly, is a perfect square. Twenty-four 10-foot-by-10-foot windows — also square — line the perimeter of the penthouse, six on each side. They frame jaw-dropping views of the city in every direction. Central Park takes pride of place to the north.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
Serhant said he had taken about eight prospective buyers to visit the penthouse in the past month. Every visitor, he added, has a visible reaction to the views.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
Ultrawealthy families and billionaires have discovered the property through his TikTok videos, Serhant told me, and requested showings. “They’re not on StreetEasy,” Serhant said, referring to New York’s most popular property-listings website, which is owned by Zillow.
They’ll fit right in: 432 Park Ave. has been a residence of choice for billionaires, business moguls, and celebrities, from the actress Jennifer Lopez to Douglas Elliman Chairman Howard Lorber — and many more.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
The most impressive vista just might be from the freestanding tub in one of the apartment’s seven bathrooms. It’s possible to see all of Central Park, uptown Manhattan, and beyond while taking a soak.
Serhant has enjoyed the bathtub himself in at least one video — reclining against its cool marble while sporting a Tom Ford suit.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
The interiors, by the Los Angeles designer Andrew Cohen, are lined with Bentley, Hermès, and Fendi furniture throughout — all included with the apartment.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
So much sunlight floods the apartment that Serhant said he rarely needed to turn on lights during showings.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
Move too quickly and you’ll miss the Chanel coffee-table books stacked on the shelves of the library, the only dark space in the entire unit.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
Herringbone white-oak floors brighten the entire apartment. The place smells luscious, like a new car or a fancy boutique.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
Sure, the dining room seats 14 easily, but all 432 Park Ave. condo owners have access to the building’s 30,000 square feet of shared amenities, which include a lounge, a gym, an indoor pool, and a sauna. There’s also a private restaurant, helmed by the Michelin-starred chef Shaun Hergatt, where residents must spend $15,000 a year.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
Serhant said penthouse dwellers were the first to know the weather, as they can watch the clouds roll in from the south.
432 Park Ave. is 1,396 feet tall and will be the highest residential building in New York City until the 1,550-foot-tall Central Park Tower is finished later this year.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
Inside the eat-in kitchen are Dornbracht fixtures, Miele appliances, and marble countertops.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
Touring it myself, I can attest to the luxuriousness of the apartment’s layout and finishes. Designer labels adorn most corners, like the Louis Vuitton throw on this armchair.
Crystal Cox/Insider
The cityscape looms so large that it’s easy to miss the carefully curated art.
In the corner of the library, for example, there’s is a multimillion-dollar Popeye sculpture by the famed artist Jeff Koons.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
Despite being so far above the city, the place feels like a home.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
Even after a decade buying and selling some of the country’s priciest properties on behalf of clients, Serhant said he was still wowed by the penthouse. “It’s six-star living,” he said.
It helps that a full-time concierge helps residents with everything from making dinner reservations to ordering a custom piano like the Blüthner.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
Despite its price tag, Serhant thinks a buyer for the one-of-a-kind condo is out there, whether they’re an international billionaire or New York financier. After all, the New York luxury market is rebounding.
If Serhant can sell this apartment for $169 million, it would be the second most expensive property ever sold in New York City, behind the hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin’s $238 million purchase at 220 Central Park South, a new condo tower in the same Midtown neighborhood, in 2019. There are signs it’s doable: tech billionaire Joe Tsai, cofounder of Alibaba, recently snapped up another 220 Central Park South unit for $157.5 million.
“We’re just the most expensive one on the market right now,” Serhant said.
