Jeff Bezos Expands His Real Estate Empire At 212 Fifth Avenue

Piece by piece, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been buying up units at 212 Fifth Avenue, spending a reported $80 million on various adjacent apartments on the top floors of the deluxe apartment building. Now, The New York Post reports that he’s snapped up another $16 million unit on the building's 20th floor, in order to complete his so-called "dream home" in the city.

Bezos's latest real estate acquisition is a three-bedroom unit that’s next to two other apartments on the floor right below the building's three-story penthouse, which, you guessed it, also belongs to Bezos. This means Bezos owns practically the entire top four floors of 212 Fifth, and his eagerness to complete the set is evident by his having paid "more than market value" for the unit, according to Dolly Lenz of Dolly Lenz Real Estate, quoted in the Post. She says the purchase "makes perfect sense" due to the unit's convenient position among the properties in the building Bezos had already purchased.

Additionally, she went on to put a positive light on Bezos's decision to buy up more property in New York City even during the coronavirus pandemic: "I think it is a boost of confidence that the richest man in the world is clearly doubling down on the most important city in the world — even though it is the coronavirus capital."

In 2017, Bezos paid $58 million for the 212 Fifth Ave penthouse, a bargain compared to its original asking price of almost $74 million. Then he paid another $22 million for two units beneath it. With the most recent $16 million buy, he’s sunk around $96 million on his apartments in the building, and now the work to combine them into one massive home will begin soon.

That means that if you’re not friends with Bezos, you might have to wait a while to see what his reported "dream home" will look like. However, you can take a look at the 212 Fifth Ave penthouse in the video below from Open House TV.