A September 18th New York Times article entitled “Rising Tower Emerges as Billionaire’s Haven”, details the success Gary Barnett and Extell development are having with One57, New York’s newest and tallest (1,004 feet high) luxury residential real estate development. VIDEO

Trophy property sales in Manhattan have skyrocketed in 2012.  While the $95 million the buyer of the full floor unit at One57 is a New York record and surpasses the $88 million paid in March for the penthouse at 15 Central Park West by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolev, it pales in comparison to the record £136 million ($221 million) paid in 2011 for a London penthouse at Nick and Christian Candy’s development, One Hyde Park. The Guardian also reported last week that a seven-story 45-bedroom house which once was owned by Lebanon’s Rafik Hariri at 2-8a Rutland Gate’s just south of Hyde Park is being quietly shopped for £300 million ($486 million).

Which is why the world’s billionaires are looking to New York as part of their investment and wealth preservation strategies.  With equity markets rising and falling, political and financial turmoil in the Middle East and Europe, and with BRIC areas showing some slowdown, New York luxury real estate has become a key element to high-net worth individuals’ long-term portfolio protection and growth and is relatively affordable.

It’s not just international investors however buying in New York; Las Vegas casino magnate, Steve Wynn recently paid $70 million for a penthouse duplex above the Ritz Carlton on Central Park South and in 2011 London’s One Hyde Park developers, Nick and Christian Candy sold a 25,000 sf (2,300 sq m) multi-floor penthouse  ($221 million) followed thereafter by the sale of Park Place in Henley to Russian banker Andrey Borodin for £140 million ($227 million). In 2012 European cash has joined the flow of investor money from the Middle East, Asia, and South America.

One57 will be Manhattan’s tallest residential building until 2016 when 423 Park Avenue is expected to top out at over 1,400 feet.