By Kim Velsey 4/08 3:06pm

Mo Money Mo Problems

Mr. Sapir, owner of silver ice buckets.

Billionaire Tamir Sapir Failed To Notice That $200,000 Worth of Silver Champagne Buckets Had Been Stolen From His Long Island Mansion

Billionaire cabbie-turned-real-estate mogul Tamir Sapir was recently the victim of theft at his $20 million Long Island mansion after a construction worker allegedly stole four antique silver champagne buckets worth $200,000, according to Newsday. But the real crime is that Mr. Sapir didn’t even notice that his extravagant booze buckets were gone until an auction house called him months after the fact. Being a billionaire is hard!

Apparently, Mr. Sapir only learned of the theft when Sotheby’s notified him that construction worker Anatoliy Maryuk had tried to fence two of the buckets—made in France and worth $50,000 a pop—to the auction company in September 2011. Mr. Maryuk had, at this point, allegedly sold the two other buckets on Ebay. Read More

By Matt Chaban 7/13/11 8:58am

Parties

Seal in '06. Those were the days.

Salesmanship in D Minor: The Real Estate Party Returns, In a Way

Gregory Spock is used to performing librettos before rapt audiences in concert halls from Hartford to Florence. Recently, the 26-year-old has found more intimate venues within the exposed-brick walls of New York townhouses. A Roland keyboard or a baby grand to his right, a pink bow tie around his neck, a songbook in his hands—Verdi always wows `em—Mr. Spock delivers bursts of baroque beauty, all for salesmanship.

Mr. Spock joined Manhattan brokerage Rubicon Property four months ago, after receiving his broker’s license in the winter. He said his new boss liked him for his creativity, which means saving money on those showings.

“A lot of people have food or wine now, but the entertainment isn’t thought out.”

Because who isn’t lulled into signing a multi-million dollar contract by the plaintive moans of Aida?

During last decade’s real estate boom, the real estate party, usually in a newly built condo tower, was a staple of the industry. After the recession hit, nobody could much afford them. Now they seem to be hobbling back, along with the real estate market. Read More

By The Editors 9/24/10 3:33pm

Moguls

Forbes: Tamir Sapir’s Net Worth About $700 M.

Forbes just came out with its 400 richest people list, and guess who isn’t on it? Even so, Manhattan developer Tamir Sapir–presumably because his demise has proven so intriguing–still merits an article. And Forbes digs up some dirt.

First, the magazine estimates the developer’s worth at about $700 million, “still wealthy indeed but not nearly Read More

By Chloe Malle 6/01/10 7:08pm

Mansion for the Masses? (Well, not quite)

Until now, the interior and rooftop views of the Duke Semans Mansion at 1009 Fifth Avenue were about as tightly guarded as Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattison’s dangerous liaison–though the recently released photographs of the $50 million Fifth Avenue mansion’s gold filigree Beaux-Arts interiors and Rococo painted pediments are more Choderlos de Laclos Read More

By Lydia DePillis 3/04/09 9:34pm

Building Stories: 100 Church Rounds a Corner

With the announcement of two major leases at coupled with being relatively new to the game—dies hard. “They’re a tough landlord,” said one tenant-side broker who asked to remain anonymous. “In this market, I’ve got options. And I’m going to drive them towards landlords who have been really solid members of the community for a long Read More

By Gillian Reagan 2/26/07 12:00am

When Alex Met Don Jr.

In a decidedly unhip slice of Manhattan, two scions of New York real-estate tycoons, average age 27½, plan to create a gleaming, 45-story condo-hotel, a rarity in city development.

Alex Sapir, 26, tumbled onto the New York City real-estate radar a year ago in March, taking the reins of his father Tamir’s real-estate empire as Read More