Billionaire Leonard Blavatnik is the new owner of the city’s most expensive co-op.
Blavatnik, a Ukrainian-born businessman, paid $80 million for New York Jets’ owner Woody Johnson’s co-op at 834 Fifth Avenue.
The news was revealed in Cindy Adams’ column on Monday.
The price is $5 million over the duplex’s $75 million asking price.
Blavatnik can afford it. He’s worth an estimated $21.8 billion, making him the world’s 32nd richest man, according to Forbes.
And he already owns some of the city’s most prestigious properties.
In 2005, Blavatnik plunked down $31.25 million to buy the city’s widest mansion: 2 East 63rd St., a 75-foot-wide townhouse formerly known as the New York Academy of Science.
In 2006, the billionaire businessman paid $27 million for a large unit at 998 Fifth Avenue, one of the avenue’s original luxury buildings, built in 1910 by Jackie Kennedy’s grandfather, James T. Lee, across the street from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and designed by McKim, Mead and White — who designed iconic American buildings like the original Penn station.
And in 2007, Blavatnik paid $51 million for Edgar Bronfman’s townhouse at 15 E. 64th St.
It’s not clear whether Blavatnik plans on living at 834 Fifth Avenue.
If he does, the mansion requires extensive renovations.
The past owner, Woody Johnson — the Johnson & Johnson heir and tragic father of the late Casey Johnson — never lived there. He did, however, use it regularly for fundraisers.
The 11th- and 12th-floor unit has five bedrooms, 5½ bathrooms and three maids’ rooms.
There’s also a large staircase, great light, views — and a gracious layout for entertaining.
The 16-story Art Deco building, designed by Rosario Candela, is considered one of the most prestigious in the city.
The previous co-op sale record was set by Israel Englander, who bought a $71.3 million duplex at 740 Park Avenue.