{"id":24346,"date":"2026-08-01T17:05:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T12:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=24346"},"modified":"2026-08-01T17:05:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T12:05:16","slug":"inside-the-war-at-nycs-pierre-where-billionaires-may-be-evicted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=24346","title":{"rendered":"Inside the war at NYC&#8217;s Pierre where billionaires may be evicted"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F07%2F136121471.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Inside the tony halls of the posh Pierre at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 61st Street, the next chapter of a war raging between some of the wealthiest people in the country \u2014\u00a0including billionaires Howard Lutnick, Larry Ellison and fashion designer Tory Burch \u2014 is being written.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/06\/10\/business\/sultan-of-brunei-in-talks-to-buy-nycs-iconic-pierre-hotel-sources\/\">The Post broke news last year<\/a> that the Pierre\u2019s board was in talks with the Sultan of Brunei and the Khashoggi family of Saudi Arabia to sell the historic building \u2014 which operates as a hotel and residence owned by a corporation of shareholders \u2014 for $2 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Five months later, some <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/11\/06\/us-news\/residents-at-luxe-tower-sue-over-secret-deal-to-sell-evict\/\">outraged co-op owners led by Burch sued the board<\/a>, alleging they were secretly plotting a shady deal that would kick owners out of their homes \u2014 as the massive deal would also include the sale of their units. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The Pierre was built in 1930. <span class=\"credit\">Helayne Seidman<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Tory Burch. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Larry Ellison. <span class=\"credit\">Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>After the board released a non-binding term sheet on the deal and three years of board minutes, the <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2025\/12\/09\/society\/pierre-hotel-residents-lawsuit-against-board-tossed\/\">case was dismissed with both sides claiming victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Gimme Shelter can now reveal more details about the $2 billion bid. <\/p>\n<p>The man behind it is Motasem Khashoggi, a Harvard-educated lawyer known as \u201cMK,\u201d who is a cousin of the late Saudi arms dealer Adnam Khashoggi. Khashoggi is the beneficial owner of Sabre Park Avenue LLC, which is making the $2 billion bid, according to a source familiar with the deal. If the deal happens, Khashoggi would hire the Dorchester Collection, a luxury hotel operator run by Brunei\u2019s sovereign wealth fund, to manage the Pierre.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Motasem Khashoggi. <span class=\"credit\">The Food District Company<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The world\u2019s longest-reigning living monarch, Brunei\u2019s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.  <span class=\"credit\">REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Michael Eisner. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Howard Lutnick. <span class=\"credit\">FIFA via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s all him. It\u2019s his money,\u201d the source said. However, some residents tell Gimme Shelter they still don\u2019t know who is behind the purchase: \u201cWe are still in the dark. All we have is the name of a shell company. That\u2019s the problem we have,\u201d one said. <\/p>\n<p>The shareholders who own the Pierre\u2019s 77 residences will vote this fall on the bid. If a two-thirds threshold is met, the sale will pass and owners will have to surrender their homes \u2014 or they will be evicted and forfeit their share of the sale, sources said.<\/p>\n<p>If the shareholders vote to sell to Khashoggi, they will have the option to buy back into the Pierre after the renovations, which could take five years. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Inside the Pierre, with a view of the original Belgian marble double staircase.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Inside a suite at the Pierre. <span class=\"credit\">Chad Rachman\/New York Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The shareholders also have no say in how much they will receive for their apartments. At one meeting, some residents said they were dramatically handed sealed envelopes that had the sale price they\u2019d be forced to accept if the sale passes.<\/p>\n<p>All of the shareholders, including publishing heir Austin Hearst, Princess Firyal of Jordan, musician Art Garfunkel and Hollywood producer Irwin Winkler, are now waiting for a proxy statement to explain the terms of the sale. But no date has been set for its release, a source for the board\u2019s legal team told Gimme.<\/p>\n<p>Given the lack of information and the absence of a proxy statement, the board called a meeting on Wednesday to deliver a presentation that would provide what little information they could to shareholders about the bid.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The Pierre and Sherry Netherland\u2019s prime perch overlooking Central Park.  <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>About 45 co-op owners attended a three-hour meeting, including Burch, while others, like ex-Disney chair Michael Eisner, attended by Zoom. But the hotly contested meeting turned out to be a \u201cdisaster with lots of shouting and tears.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI learned nothing,\u201d said one resident. \u201cA lot of it was optics. They didn\u2019t share any numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the meeting, the Dorchester Group delivered a presentation about what the Pierre would look like if they would be running it \u2014 after the residents had been kicked out of the building.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was tone deaf,\u201d the resident said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI almost felt sorry for the Dorchester guy. I think they were surprised by the reaction of the shareholders and shocked by the animosity,\u201d the resident added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The Pierre during its glory days.  <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A source for the buyer says the purchase price being offered for the homes as part of the $2 billion sale is generous and \u201cthree or four times\u201d the value of each residence. Others say the price is too low.<\/p>\n<p>Around 700 people will also lose their jobs at the residence, if two thirds of the shareholders vote to sell the building this fall.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the co-op owners are in their 80s and 90s. They are already rich, and don\u2019t want to move for any price.<\/p>\n<p>Other residents say the board has not been transparent since the talks began a few years ago and improperly rejected an offer from the Taj Group, which currently has a lease to run the hotel and residences \u2014 and has been doing so since 2005.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The exterior of the Pierre in an archival image.  <span class=\"credit\">Penske Media via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Art Garfunkel is a shareholder. <span class=\"credit\">Kevin Mazur\/Getty Images for The Recording Academy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Earlier this week, Taj sent a letter to the board stating that it will invest $300 million for repairs and renovations \u2014 without uprooting the residents. (Another insider told Gimme that Taj is not \u201ccredible\u201d in part because the building is in need of $400 million worth of repairs that were not made earlier under its watch.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is about morals, ethics and transparency. People should not be forced to leave their homes and have 700 people fired \u2026 especially as a result of a deceptive, misleading and opaque process orchestrated by some of the board members and their advisors,\u201d Burch, who has lived in the building for 28 years, told Gimme Shelter.<\/p>\n<p>David Johnson, president of the board, declined to comment on Wednesday\u2019s meeting or the proposed $2 billion buyout, saying: \u201cIt was a private meeting among shareholders and it is inappropriate to discuss it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The deal would be brokered by Newmark Group, a Cantor Fitzgerald company now run by Lutnick\u2019s sons, Brandon and Kyle, after their father stepped down as Cantor\u2019s chairman and CEO in 2025 to become Commerce Secretary.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The building has 77 homes inside. <span class=\"credit\">Annie Wermiel\/NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That means one of the Pierre\u2019s own co-op owners \u2014 Lutnick, who bought the building\u2019s trophy penthouse for $44 million in 2017 but never moved in \u2014 has sons whose firm stands to collect a fee on the very sale he\u2019d profit from as a shareholder.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s getting ugly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShareholders need more transparency from the board and its agents,\u201d said Hearst.<\/p>\n<p>Added another resident: \u201cIt\u2019s an abuse of power and a dereliction of [the board\u2019s] duties. We just don\u2019t know what kind of deals were made on the side. We love our hotel and they want to gut it, change it, and fire the staff and in return we can get a reservation at the Dorchester hotels. They are playing bad pool. I\u2019m so tired of the duplicity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>People on both sides agree on one thing: the public fight is devaluing the building.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not just a story about wealthy people fighting. If this passes, it will set a precedent for co-ops across the city.\u00a0Anyone\u2019s home is vulnerable,\u201d the resident added. \u201cWe love the Pierre. Yes, it needs work, but we love its old-world charm. We don\u2019t want some marbled new structure. It\u2019s historic and part of New York.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Inside the tony halls of the posh Pierre at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 61st Street, the next chapter of a war raging between some of the wealthiest people in the country \u2014\u00a0including billionaires Howard Lutnick, Larry Ellison and fashion designer Tory Burch \u2014 is being written. The Post broke news last year&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/136121471.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}