It doesn’t seem to be easy to sell an apartment at 778 Park Avenue — or any palatial, old-school Park Avenue co-op advertised above $20 million. But the makeup scion William P. Lauder is still trying. Today, he listed a sprawling floor-through unit on the 12th floor for $26.95 million. It sat on the market for a year when its last owner listed it for only $950,000 more back in 2020.
Details:
Price: $26.95 million ($28,123 monthly maintenance fee)
Specs: Five bedrooms and five bathrooms in main space. Three bedrooms in separate staff wing.
Extras: Library, dining room, breakfast room, butler’s pantry, dressing room, gallery
10-minute walking radius: Central Park, the Frick Collection, the Mark Hotel
Listed by: Cathy Franklin, the Corcoran Group
The apartment is in one of two Rosario Candela buildings that flank Park Avenue at East 73rd Street, a limestone-and-brick co-op that rises into a crest of terraces and a cupola, a Candela trademark. Past residents in the building include Brooke Astor and Vera Wang, and the apartment is audaciously luxurious. There’s a five-bedroom spread with a library, butler’s pantry, and great room (36 feet overlooking Park Avenue), and there’s also a completely separate wing for staff that includes three more bedrooms and a dining room.
The place was last owned by another billionaire who made a fortune from cosmetics: Ronald Perelman, a former owner of Revlon. He listed the apartment in 2020 for $27.9, but it languished for a year. Last summer, Lauder scooped it up off-market for $4 million less. Perelman seems to have been a motivated seller. Bloomberg reported that he took a financial hit during the pandemic and started selling off stocks, art, and even a private jet.
Reporters speculated that Lauder had plans to build a duplex at 778, since he owned the unit upstairs — another floor-through, which he bought in 2007. But he had also tried to get rid of that apartment before, telling The Wall Street Journal that he didn’t need the space because his kids were grown and he had already bought a new apartment on Fifth Avenue.
The upstairs listing sat for two years, even after he dropped the price from $45 million to $39 million. He seems to still own it. The downstairs unit was listed today with photos that seem identical to the ones in the listing under Perelman. Shots show boldly patterned carpets, gold-toned wall coverings, and an art collection that includes Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup can prints in a hallway and a Botero over a couch.
It’s unclear what Lauder ever planned to do with the place. His agent, Cathy Franklin, wasn’t immediately available to respond to questions. But Lauder, unlike Perelman, doesn’t look like he’s downsizing anytime soon. On top of his New York City apartments, Lauder reportedly owns homes in Westchester and Aspen. Last year, he spent $155 million buying Rush Limbaugh’s former waterfront estate in West Palm Beach, which included a salon designed to mimic Versailles.
He may have plans to retire there. Last month, Estée Lauder shared the news that he’s stepping down as executive chairman and staying on only as chair of the board of directors.
