Julia Koch is the mystery buyer of two East Side co-ops that sold for $101 million last month.The properties were sold by the estate of late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen.
In addition to the penthouse, the apartments at 4 E. 66th St. include a penthouse and a full-floor unit below it. After owning the apartment below the penthouse since 1996 when he paid $13.5 million for it, Allen purchased the penthouse in 2011 for a mere $25 million.
The 60-year-old Koch could not be reached for comment.
According to Bloomberg, the billionaire’s net worth is as high as $70 billion. He has recently been on a property buying spree.
David Koch had also acquired a historic Hamptons property nearby her own Southampton estate for less than the asking price.
Koch intends to restore the historic property, but any plans are still in the early stages; another source suggested it could be used by Koch’s three grown children and their families.
Additionally, Koch owns a $18 million mansion on “Billionaire Lane” in Southampton, where residents have included Calvin Klein, Leon Black, Aby Rosen, Ian Schrager, and Jay Sugarman.
Koch recently hosted a costume party in the Hamptons and there was buzz among the guests she was buying the Allen estate pad on East 66th Street. This historic building has also been the residence of Veronica Hearst and Bernard Baruch, and its address is also known as 845 Fifth Avenue.
The sale of the $101 million property was the biggest so far in 2022 (not counting a duplex at 220 Central Park South that went for $188 million that was “completed in late 2021 however not taped till mid-January
Koch married David at his Southampton estate in 1996. Also known for charitable investing, Koch Industries co-owner Koch was known for donating $100 million to Lincoln Facility in 2008 and 10s of millions of dollars to the Smithsonian, American Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Gallery, and others.
It was he and his older brother, Charles. The latter founded the conservative group Americans for Prosperity and invested hundreds of millions of dollars in supporting GOP politicians at all levels of government.
Earlier, the couple and their three children lived in an 18-room duplex at 740 Park Avenue, one of the city’s most coveted addresses. As described in the book “740 Park: The Story of the World’s Richest Apartment Building,” David purchased the building from the Japanese government, who used it to house its UN representative.