Ms. Rich's grand piano in her grand salon.

Apparently, Dreamworks co-founder David Geffen doesn't take the  biblical commandment "thou shalt not covet they neighbor's house" very seriously. He's gone ahead and purchased the 20-room duplex penthouseat 785 Fifth Avenue from his upstairs neighbor Denise Rich for a record-setting $54 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. The previous co-op record was set this spring, when Oaktree Capital Chief Howard Marks purchased the Courtney Sale Ross apartment at 740 Park for $52.5 million.

Ms. Rich listed the crazy spread for $65 million in January with Corcoran brokers Noble Black, Chazz Levi and Bonnie Pfeifer Evans, who claim that at 12,000-square-feet it is the largest apartment ever offered on Fifth Avenue (although measuring square footage in co-ops is a notoriously imprecise process).  And while Ms. Rich didn't get full ask, she got more than anyone else ever has before. And we thought that maybe the trophy hunting season was over! How many pseudo trophy listings will Ms. Rich's enviable sale spawn?

The real question is what kind of taxes the Austrian-born singer, socialite and philanthropist will have to pay on her penthouse profit after renouncing her U.S. citizenship earlier this year.

And where will she live? The apartment was literally, custom made for a Fifth Avenue powerhouse like Ms. Rich, with wrap-around terraces, a full roof-top terrace, seven-bedrooms, 11 baths and three kitchens (who needs three kitchens? Even Downton Abbey only had one. Surely a catering crew could manage everything for a sit-down dinner for 22 in the chef's kitchen adjoining the grand dining room?). There's also a professional recording studio (not very useful for most buyers), a complete gym overlooking Central Park (you can watch those without gyms run far below your penthouse perch) and a library with custom-milled Fiddleback mahogany. See the full apartment here>>

We're sure that as a current resident of the building, Mr. Geffen wouldn't have had much trouble getting past the co-op board, but the board of 785 is pretty laid back anyway. The listing informs us that international and pied-a-terre purchasers are welcome in the building.

At least Mr. Geffen will probably be spending a good deal of his time in this huge apartment, which is somewhat heartening. We hate to think that much of the city's most spectacular real estate is, or will soon, be owned by part-time residents, like the sad, empty penthouse at 15 CPW. The Journal reports that Mr. Geffen planning to sell his downstairs apartment and renovate the space before moving into the $54 million fixer upper. Since he'll be knocking down walls and re-doing finishes anyway, why not just keep his downstairs apartment and turn the place into a triplex?

kvelsey@observer.com

Play it again, Jack. (StreetEasy)

How about those views?

Here's one for the record books—or rather, a couple of them, given the people involved.

According to Page Six, David Geffen has just purchased Denise Rich's sprawling 12,000-square-foot penthouse at 785 Fifth Avenue for $54 million. That would, by $1.5 million, beat out Courtney Sale Ross' long-suffering duplex at 740 Park for the new record for a co-op sale in the city were it to be true, a record that was set only two months ago.

The L.A.-based Mr. Geffen already owns a unit on the 16th floor, directly below Ms. Rich's duplex, and in the past they had a big fight over leaks coming into his place. But he will not be combining the two units, according to the Post, instead taking a good two years to renovate his new home before moving in and selling off his current pad. Oh, those pesky co-op boards and their onerous rules. Can't have someone owning too many shares, now can we?

Still, it was probably worth it. According to the Corcoran listing, this was the "largest-ever offering of a Penthouse on Fifth Avenue" not to mention "the epitome of luxury and grandeur." The place boasts 20 rooms, seven of them for sleeping, 11 of them for relieving oneself, a massive 540-square-foot media room (bigger than two of the mayor's micro-apartments!) a dining or billiards room, four terrace including a huge one on the roof, and, the perfect amenity for Mr. Geffen, a recording studio. (Ms. Rich is a well-known songwriter.)

And so the insanity continues. Seriously, this is getting crazier than 2007, where a sale above $40 million was jawdropping. Now, that is almost pedestrian next to all the huge deals being done. For awhile it seemed like this was just a condo thing, but now with the co-ops, and townhouses, too, is any Manhattan real estate off-limits?

Now, according Netjets chief executive Richard Santulli, "The jet market stinks." Out of a mix of necessity (a $47 million Gulfstream 550 costs more than $2,000 per hour to operate) and propriety (“They are not going to do employee layoffs and keep the jets") companies like Citigroup, Time Warner, Alcatel-Lucent, Ford, and GM itself are all getting rid of their aircraft. Some are starting to charter flights while others are participating in fractional ownership, purchasing things like Netjets's Marquis card, which gives customers access to the company's fleet in 25-hour increments. However, those businesses are also slower than usual. It seems that our CEOs might soon be forced into first-class. (Horrors!)  

Oh, and fun fact: "Mr. Santulli said that the jet market usually picks up three months after the stock market has reached a bottom. There is no indication of an uptick yet." 

LA Observed has it from a source who has it from three sources that Geffen is interested in buying it and was close to a deal last week. Nikki Finke has it from a source who says they are in "serious discussions."

But reading over the entries, we wondered who was, um, out to lunch (okay, we'll cut it ... out) when it came to writing and fact-checking the David Geffen entry?

Here's a quote: "If his influence is exaggerated (he noisily switched his political support from Hillary to Barack in 2007, only to see Hillary win California), Geffen’s personal fortune certainly isn’t. With a net worth of $6 billion, he ranks higher than Windows founder Steve Jobs on the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires..."

For the record, Steve Jobs founded Apple, which as anyone in your IT department will tell you, is just about the polar opposite of Windows.

Update: Looks like the folks at Out have worked all their mistakes... out. (Sorry, sorry, last one!)

According to his report-which relies on unnamed sources-the duo could walk in 15 months if their relationship with Mr. Redstone, whose purchase of Dreamworks through Paramount was regarded as a coup in Hollywood, does not improve.

Mr. Geffen called Mr. Bart from his yacht, location unknown, on Friday, to try to quash the reports, citing their pleasure with marketing and distribution for Dreamworks successes Disturbia, Transformers, and Shrek the Third. But if Mr. Bart's sources are right, it would be further evidence that not all is well in the house of Redstone. Last week, reports he was feuding with his daughter, Shari, put the inheritance of Mr. Redstone's media empire in doubt.

But fickle Mr. Geffen quickly shopped the 12-room apartment around, and, earlier this month, it was rumored to be selling for $34 million. Deeds filed in city records on Monday show that Mr. Geffen sold for a smidge more: The apartment went to alliterative Blackstone Group co-founder Pete Peterson for $37.5 million.

The Observer broke the story online that afternoon.

But despite the comforting $6 million that Mr. Geffen has added to his $4.6 billion fortune, his sale doesn’t come close to threatening voracious media kingpin Rupert Murdoch’s $44 million co-op record.

But there’s an upside. As New York magazine pointed out when the deal was first rumored, the co-op building used to house Richard Nixon, Mr. Peterson’s boss during his days as Commerce Secretary. Plus, the Blackstone boy is an old friend of the Rockefeller family: Nelson’s little brother David preceded Mr. Peterson as chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, and older brother John III was a pal, too.

So he’ll fit in cozily.

The deal represents the second-biggest co-op sale in New York City history, behind only Rupert Murdoch's $44 million buy at 834 Fifth.

In exchange, Mr. Peterson has the 12-room duplex penthouse at 810 Fifth Avenue, which fickle Mr. Geffen bought just last year for $31.5 million. Most recently, in an article last week in the NY Sun, Mr. Geffen was said to be selling for only $34 million. Such chump change!

Despite his steep price, this buyer belongs in the building. As New York magazine pointed out when the deal was first rumored, the co-op building used to house Richard Nixon, the Blackstone man’s boss when he was the Secretary of Commerce.

Fittingly, Governor Nelson Rockefeller was once in the penthouse: Nelson’s little brother David preceded Mr. Peterson as a chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations; and older brother John III was a pal of the Blackstone boy’s too.

About David Geffen's revolt against Hillary:

About whether Al Gore should run (and, remember, this is the guy who is holding a 1,000-person Hillary Clinton fund-raiser at his Beverly Hills house):

What about his war with The New York Post? Was the Post pursuing a political agenda?

- Tom McGeveran