A luxury Trump Tower apartment in NYC bought for $2.65 million is now at the center of a multimillion-dollar legal war as its owner claims the Fifth Avenue address turned into a financial nightmare.
Not So Luxury Afterall?
Monaco-based financier Riccardo Grande Stevens says the one-bedroom, two-bath unit on the 47th floor of the former president’s flagship Manhattan tower did not go up in value, but instead has dropped in value by nearly half over the past decade. According to The Independent, it obtained a copy of a lawsuit was filed in New York state court. Although The Independent does not report the date of the filing, it reveals that the Stevens describes the purchase as a particularly poor investment and is seeking at least $3 million in damages from the real estate adviser who allegedly urged him to buy it.
Stevens purchased the 1,000-square-foot pied-à-terre in November 2015, months after Donald Trump launched his first presidential campaign from the building’s famed golden escalator. According to the complaint, Stevens believed he was acquiring undervalued New York properties that would appreciate and generate rental income. Instead, he claims, the Trump Tower unit is now worth roughly $1.6 million.
The lawsuit targets Richard Tayar, a New York-based broker originally from Florence, Italy, whose firm promoted high-end property management services. Stevens alleges Tayar steered him into nearly 40 New York-area investments while collecting commissions on each sale and rental, creating what the lawsuit characterizes as a financial incentive to close deals regardless of long-term viability.
The Trump Tower apartment, the filing claims, was ill-suited for rental income because of steep common charges. Stevens further alleges that Tayar failed to secure paying tenants and instead occupied the unit himself without paying rent.
Trump Tower, primarily owned and managed by The Trump Organization, has long been a magnet for celebrities, business leaders, and political figures. Since its debut in 1983, the building has hosted stars like Michael Jackson, who rented in the 1990s; Bruce Willis, a condo owner; and Steven Spielberg, who maintained a pied-à-terre, The New York Times reported. Entertainment legends including Liberace, Johnny Carson, Paul Anka, and Vincent Gallo have also called it home. Political and controversial figures, including former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, have been linked to the tower. Donald Trump maintained a penthouse for decades before moving primarily to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Bach, Florida.
Trump purchased the site, formerly home to the famed Bonwit Teller department store, in 1979 and began construction around 1980. The demolition of the previous building, including its iconic art-deco limestone reliefs, sparked controversy because Trump promised to preserve or donate the reliefs to a museum, but during demolition, most of them were destroyed. Completed in 1983, the tower stands 664 feet tall. While initially estimated to cost around $100 million, the construction of Trump Tower in the early 1980s is more accurately reported to have cost approximately $200 million, according to author Jerome Tuccille’s book “Trump: The Saga of America’s Most Powerful Real Estate Baron.”
The building functions as a mixed-use space, combining retail, office areas, and luxury condominiums.
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