NEW YORK, Dec 17 (AFP) - Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has agreed to buy a Manhattan penthouse for 44 million dollars in cash -- a record price for a residence in one of the world's most costly real estate markets.
The New York Times on Friday said the Australian-born billionaire, now a US citizen, had negotiated the deal for the Fifth Avenue penthouse that belonged to the late Laurance S. Rockefeller.
The newspaper cited two sources close to the deal who asked not to be identified because a final contract has yet to be signed, although representatives of Rockefeller's estate have accepted Murdoch's offer.
Once the contract is formalised, Murdoch, 73, will still need to be approved by the building's co-op board, whose rules require the buyer to pay all cash.
The penthouse atop 834 Fifth Avenue is a luxurious triplex, overlooking Central Park.
If the purchase goes through, it would surpass the 42.25 million dollars that financier David Martinez paid last year to create a single apartment from two condominium units in the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle.
Designed by architect Rosario Candela and completed in 1931, Murdoch's would-be apartment incorporates 20 rooms across 8,000 square feet (743 square meters), with 4,000 square feet of terracing.
The monthly maintenance fees alone are nearly 21,500 dollars.
Murdoch, his wife, Wendi Deng, and their two daughters currently live in downtown Manhattan.
Murdoch, founder and head of the News Corp. media empire, has a net worth estimated by Forbes magazine at 7.8 billion dollars.
Rockefeller, a noted philanthropist and conservationist, died in July, at the age of 94.
12/17/2004 15:06 GMT - AFP