Dreier, Fabulosity, Real Estate, Slideshows, White-Collar Crime

Lawyerly Lairs: Marc Dreier's Penthouse Goes for $8.2 Million

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A certain big-time lawyer turned big-time fraudster — Marc Dreier, aka “Mini-Madoff” — will probably spend the rest of his life behind bars. He must miss his days of house arrest, when he got to hole up in 34C — not just a great bra size, but also a great apartment — at One Beacon Court.
That apartment is no longer his. The New York Law Journal reports:

The luxury midtown Manhattan apartment of disgraced attorney Marc S. Dreier was sold at auction for $8.2 million, about $2 million less than the $10.43 million he paid in 2007.

The sale of the condominium at 151 E. 58th St. came just one week after Southern District Judge Jed S. Rakoff sentenced Mr. Dreier to 20 years in prison for orchestrating a multi-year Ponzi scheme that fleeced more than $400 million from clients of Dreier LLP and investors to whom he sold bogus promissory notes.

Forty-six bidders registered for the auction held at Southern District Bankruptcy Court. In just five minutes, the price of Mr. Dreier’s 3,000-square-foot apartment in the Bloomberg Building at One Beacon Court rocketed to $8.15 million from an initial bid of $3 million.

Eight million isn’t chump change. But look at everything the buyer is getting!


The NYLJ sets the scene:

On Monday, as potential bidders roamed through Mr. Dreier’s unit admiring the sweeping East River views from its massive terrace, remnants of the now imprisoned attorney’s lavish past remained.

Photos of rocker Jon Bon Jovi and former New York Giant Michael Strahan, celebrity clients of Dreier LLP, which imploded days after its sole equity partner’s December arrest, lined the walls of the entryway….

In the kitchen, one of the auctioneer’s employees dumped a bottle of walnut oil down the sink and threw a jar of capers into a large green trash bag. A 2003 bottle of Château d’Yquem and a bottle of Ruinart Champagne Brut Blanc were still chilling in a wine fridge.

A wood-framed mirror occupying nearly a full wall of the master bedroom faced Mr. Dreier’s bed. A woman’s black camisole was rolled up next to one of the nearly 30 pairs of shoes the attorney left behind in his closet.

Maybe it belonged to a Maxim model?
So who bought Dreier’s old place? According to the New York Daily News, the winning bidder was Ajit Jain, who heads reinsurance at Berkshire Hathaway. Jain is often mentioned as a possible successor to the legendary Warren Buffet as CEO of the entire company.
The 3,000 square foot apartment is on the 34th floor of the ultra-luxurious One Beacon Court condominium, home to such celebs as Beyonce and Brian Williams. It has stunning skyline views from a gigantic terrace (over 700 square feet — bigger than many a Manhattan apartment).
To get a better sense for Dreier’s former condo, check out the slideshow below. If you’re in a place where you can watch video (i.e., not the office), take a virtual tour of the premises.
Could You Live In A Cave, On Zero Dollars A Day? [Dealbreaker]
Marc Dreier’s Luxury Prison Revealed! [Cityfile]
‘Mini-Madoff’ Marc Dreier’s fancy East Side pad sold for $8.2 million [New York Daily News]
Dreier’s Apartment Fetches $8.2 Million at Bankruptcy Auction [New York Law Journal via Dealbook]
Marc Dreier’s One Beacon Pad Auctioned for $8.2 Million [Curbed]

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