A plan championed by President Donald Trump's commerce secretary to clear longtime residents out of a famed Manhattan building has fallen apart.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was a driving force behind a proposed $2 billion sale of the Pierre, a combination hotel and co-op on Fifth Avenue near Central Park, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The deal died Tuesday evening after the would-be buyer, Saudi investor Motasem Khashoggi, failed to produce a $100 million deposit by his deadline.
Lutnick, who owns the building's three-floor penthouse, found Khashoggi and helped him shape his pitch, according to The Times. Had the sale closed, Lutnick stood to clear about $60 million on his unit, while Newmark Group, a real estate firm he once led and that two of his sons now help run, would have pocketed a $30 million advisory fee.
Chat records reviewed by The Times show Lutnick agreed to give Khashoggi's son an internship at a brokerage tied to Cantor Fitzgerald, the investment firm Lutnick led, while the two hashed out the deal. In mid-December 2024, after Trump tapped him for the Cabinet, Lutnick switched their WhatsApp thread to disappearing messages.
Khashoggi's plan called for a top-to-bottom overhaul that would have forced every resident to sell and move out. That sparked fierce pushback from older owners hoping to spend their remaining years there, as well as famous residents including singer Art Garfunkel and designer Tory Burch. The jobs of more than 400 employees also hung in the balance, The Times noted.
Tina Beriro, who has lived at the Pierre for over two decades and turns 86 on Thursday, was among the loudest critics, per The Times.
"I am relieved," she told The Times, crediting a "group of old lady widows and divorcees" with the outcome. "Look what we did!"
Tempers flared at a July meeting where the buyer's representatives pitched the renovation. After former Disney chief Michael Eisner voiced support for a sale, Burch fired back, "If you're not happy here, leave."
Lutnick declined to comment for The Times through a spokesman.