by Lieba Nesis
Real Estate billionaire Ziel Feldman is part of an ever-growing list of moguls who are putting their real estate up for sale as the pandemic, increased crime and New York tax laws have caused them to flee. The modern orthodox Feldman, 61, became famous for buying up distressed assets during market upheaval by diversifying his risk. One Madison, 11 Beach Street, 505 West 19th Street are just a couple of the properties Feldman scooped up-even attempting to expand into the Miami market with his purchase of the South Beach Shore Club in 2015 until that plan was scrapped in 2017. Feldman who began as a lawyer for real estate giant Gary Barnett ventured out on his own with a track record that took the business world by storm. In his 25-year career he has bought and sold real estate in excess of $10 billion, including more than 12,000 residential units. Feldman, according to The Real Deal, has listed his 6,200-square-foot triplex for $39 million at the Marquand, a mansion on 11 East 68th Street that Feldman converted into 40 condominiums in 2013. The five bedroom unit triplex contains a sunroom, 2,600 feet of outdoor space, a summer kitchen, and two home offices. In 2013 the penthouse was listed for $46 million with Feldman taking ownership in 2018 with a $19.8 million mortgage from Bank of America. Ziel and his wife Helene, are renowned on the New York and Hampton social circuit, as the glamorous duo hosts parties and charity events at their estate on Dune Road in Bridgehampton and their apt in New York-the Bridgehampton house is also reportedly on the market. The Feldman’s Bridgehampton estate abuts the homes of billionaires Len Blavatnik and real estate titan Donald Zucker. Feldman also sold his Englewood New Jersey estate last month for $7 million-a significant price reduction from a home that had been asking $19.5 million; especially considering they renovated it for $13 million. I am predicting the glamorous jet-setting Feldmans will settle in Miami to avoid the drudgerous New York tax laws and enjoy the sunny weather.
-Some other luminaries with real estate on the market include Winona Ryder who is putting her 3,140 square foot home in San Francisco which she purchased for $1.3 million in 1995 on the market for $4.995 million. According to The Real Deal, singer Marc Anthony, is also attempting to sell his 21,000 square foot Coral Gables mansion for $27 million. Hilda Maria Bacardi, the great great granddaughter of Bacardi founder Facundo Bacardi, sold it to Anthony for $19 million in 2018 and Anthony is listing the 12-bedroom property on 300 Costanera Road with Cervera and Nexxos Realty. Sales of homes in the area have surged during the pandemic with Pharrell Williams buying a nearby property for $30 million.
-While Princess Diana died nearly 25-years ago on August 31, 1997 she continues to remain in the headlines as the popular show The Crown depicts her relationship with Charles in a highly unflattering light. The Crown is given such great weight in England that it appears the 72-year-old Charles ascension to the throne is in jeopardy as he is revealed as an adulterous brute who mistreats Diana in an unseemly fashion. Despite the out-of-date fashion choices worn by actress Emma Corrin, who portrays Diana, the search for related clothing has surged 171% on eBay as people spend hundreds to look like the late princess. In even more exciting news it was revealed that BBC interviewer Martin Bashir used forged statements to obtain his infamous 1995 interview with Diana-which was by more than 20 million people in Britain. The interview led to the death of Princess Diana who was forced by Queen Elizabeth to divorce Charles a year later, resulting in her untimely death in a Paris tunnel in 1997-this was due to her being unaccompanied by royal protection and taking up with the less than honorable Dodi Fayed. Bashir contributed to the downfall of another superstar named Michael Jackson after he conducted his infamous interview over a span of 8 months in May 2002-where Jackson revealed he slept with and touched young boys. Paradoxically, Jackson similarly claimed that Bashir tricked him into the interview by playing into Jackson’s fondness for Diana with the claim that his interview “turned Diana’s life around.” After the Bashir interview Jackson’s molestation case was reopened and it was revealed to the court that Bashir promised Jackson a meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and a trip with Jackson and Annan to Africa to help children with AIDS. Jackson felt betrayed by Bashir’s portrayal of his relationship with children. Bashir conducted the two most famous interviews of the past 50 years by normally reclusive luminaries through less than honest means. I bumped into him nearly a decade ago at the Reebok gym when I inquired as to his interview with Diana he said she was a very “troubled woman” and also revealed he was suffering from a brain tumor. He is currently ailing with Covid and while his means for obtaining those two historic interviews were less than straightforward he should be given a pass more than 20 years later.
-The Phil Collins divorce gets crazier each day as he is seeking to evict his ex-wife, Orianne Cevey, from his $40 million Miami Beach mansion after she secretly married Thomas Bates after telling Phil she was heading to Vegas for business. The two got married in the 90’s had two sons together divorced in 2006 in which Cevey received $46.76 million, which she apparently squandered on bad investments, and then remarried in 2016. Cevey said Collins promised her the Miami mansion and stormed the property in October with four armed guards. In a most embarrassing twist Cevey claimed Collins refused to brush his teeth and shower for up to a year, negatively effecting their sex life, and was addicted to painkillers and impotent. A 25-year-old Wilhelmina model friend of mine confided in me two years ago that Cevey was paying for him to practice singing in order to further his singing career which she was convinced would take off in Miami-despite the fact that his voice was nonexistent. Her pattern of bedding and paying for young men, has undoubtedly led to her current state of financial distress.
-Celebrity Sightings: Rihanna showed up at Italian Restaurant Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica for a high-end Italian meal with hairstylist Yusef Williams. Rihanna was sporting a trendy mullet hairdo and shut down the restaurant for some much needed privacy on Wednesday November 18th.
Brad Pitt was spotted in a South Central LA housing project handing out boxes of groceries to poor families. Pitt sported long hair, a pair of ripped jeans, a dangling cigarette and a big smile. Donating some of the millions he made from his Academy Award-winning “Once Upon a Time In Hollywood” might be a better use of his resources-albeit a less significant photo opportunity.
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