Magnate's daughter sets apartment record

The Life: A Russian heiress has paid a record price for New York City apartment

The penthouse at 15 Central Park West in New York. Courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens Real Estate

Q&A: New York property

What's happening with New York property? Prices dropped during the downturn, but not as far as many other areas of the country. And the top end of the market has continued to thrive, with buyers from Russia, Asia and Latin America helping to bolster sales.

Isn't London the hot international market? It is true that London has replaced New York as the most popular city for international buyers.

Is there any new construction in New York? Several developers have hinted they are ready to move forward with skyscrapers. Interest rates are low and rents are increasing, making projects feasible again.

Is the US market getting better? There were signs of improvements in recent months. In Miami the number of transactions perked up, in part due to international buyers. But there was no real evidence of recovery.

Billionaire daughters are on a shopping spree for luxury property in the US.

First Petra Ecclestone, the daughter of Formula One ruler Bernie Ecclestone, paid a reported US$85 million (Dh312.2mn) for the Candy Spelling mansion in California.

Now Ekaterina Rybolovleva, the 22-year-old daughter of Russian fertiliser magnate Dmitry Rybolovlev, has saved up her allowance money to buy an $88m apartment in New York City, the most ever paid for an apartment in the city.

The 626.5-square-metre, four-bedroom apartment is the penthouse of 15 Central Park West, where actor Denzel Washington, Sting the musician, and Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein also own flats.

The 202 apartments feature "soaring ceilings and windows, individual wine cellars with solid oak cabinetry, a private in-house chef … and some of the largest penthouse apartments and terraces the city has ever seen," according to a website for the building.

The cheapest apartment in the building, a two-bedroom in the rear, rents for $18,000 a month.

Few details are available about Ms Rybolovleva's penthouse flat. It includes 10 rooms, a wraparound terrace of more than 2,000 square feet and two wood-burning fireplaces, according to press reports.

The seller is Sanford Weill, the former Citigroup chairman, who has vowed to donate the sale's proceeds to charity.

Little is known about Ms Rybolovleva, who keeps a much lower profile than Ms Ecclestone, who is a familiar face in international society circles. Ms Rybolovleva, a competitive equestrian, is studying in the US.

"She plans to stay in the apartment when visiting New York," her representatives told Forbes magazine.

Ms Rybolovleva was born in Russia, but has lived in Monaco and Switzerland for the past 15 years.

In 2008 her Dad paid $95m for Maison de L'Amitie, Donald Trump's mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. But he may not hold on to it for long.

His estranged wife, Elena, is seeking custody of the mansion in divorce proceedings.

The Quote: It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story. - Agatha Christie, author