Blog

Well, not exactly. New York City’s last gilded-age mansion is up for grabs—to the tune of $50 million!

Located in Manhattan, this prestigious six-story Beaux Arts limestone townhouse was once owned by the granddaughter of railroad baron Cornelius Vanderbilt. Originally built in 1905 for a stockbroker, it’s since had several buyers and sellers, including the Republic of Yugoslavia, which bought it for $350,000 in 1946. Over the years it’s housed world leaders and is believed to have a “secret top floor,” which allowed Soviet Union allies to make calls without being wiretapped. Now Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia are selling the townhouse. There are already six potential buyers, reportedly —so we may have a bidding war on our hands.

So what can $50 million buy? For starters, there are 32 rooms, eight bathrooms, two elevators and a white marble staircase. Even if it’s a tad out of your price range, there’s no harm in looking.