Carlos Slim's $80M Fifth Avenue Mansion Could Shatter Record

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is hoping to shatter the New York City townhouse record, having listed his 20,000-square-foot Upper East Side mansion for $80 million. The current record-holder is the Harkness Mansion, which investor J. Christopher Flowers purchased for $53 million in 2006 (and Larry Gagosian later purchased for $36.5 million). Slim's home, at 1009 Fifth Avenue, is the landmarked Benjamin N. Duke House, one of the (if not the) largest and most luxurious of the surviving Central Park-facing prewar mansions. Slim purchased the place in 2010, paying $44 million, so he stands to make a hefty profit if the mansion goes for anywhere close to its asking price. Which is good, since he's only worth $76.4 billion, and could definitely use a little more.

Though there are no interior listing photos, the brokerbabble does provide an idea of what's inside the mansion:

The lower floors of the faade are articulated limestone and boast an entrance that is charmingly capped with a wrought-iron marquee. The upper floors of the house are clad in brick and are lavishly adorned with limestone elements and accented with curvilinear bays.

Throughout the house, the interiors feature soaring ceilings, hand-carved wood paneling, lovely trompe l'oeil accents, gold-leaf trimmed fixtures and intricate plaster friezes. The absolutely stunning sweeping staircase ascends five stories and is punctuated by vast windowed landings while the wonderful and sun dappled corner rooms to the west are perfectly balanced by the slightly larger complement of rooms to the east. The top floors of the house also incorporate a dramatic skylight and are accessed by a separate staircase. UPDATE: In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Slim told Bloomberg, "This house was bought through a real estate firm in our group that's dedicated to this type of investment. We think it was a good investment for the company to buy it at that time, just as we think this is a good time to sell it. · Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim wants $80M for his massive Manhattan townhouse [NYDN]
· Listing: 1009 Fifth Avenue [Sotheby's, via Streeteasy]
· Streetscapes/1009 Fifth Avenue; Luxury Rental Units in a Fifth Avenue Mansion [NYT]
· The Benjamin Duke House - 1009 Fifth Avenue [Dayonian]
· 1009 Fifth Avenue coverage [Curbed]