ON THE MONEY
The Forbes family empire continues to contract.
The Greenwich Village townhouse that backed Forbes’ Fifth Avenue headquarters has been sold to condo developer the Icon Group for $7.25 million — a 52 percent discount from its original asking price.
The Forbes HQ building at 60 Fifth Ave. was sold to NYU in 2010 for $75 million. It is leased back to Forbes Media, the media company that is 55 percent owned by the family and 45 percent owned by Elevation Partners, the investment company headed by U2 front man Bono and Silicon Alley investor Roger McNamee.
Julianna Margulies
The single family, 6,800 square-foot, five-story townhouse at 11 W. 12th St. was built in 1847 and purchased from the MacMillan Publishing Co. by Malcolm Forbes in 1965. The family had first listed the building in February 2011 for $15.25 million, according to The Real Deal.
The townhouse has seen an eclectic parade of notables from the worlds of politics, media and Hollywood pass through its halls — including Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, William F. Buckley, Caspar Weinberger and Elizabeth Taylor. The building was linked directly to the corporate HQ but has been in a state of decline in recent years.
The sale was handled by Brown Harris Stevens.
The moguls who run Icon, Terrence Lowenberg and Todd Cohen, did not return a call from The Post, but they are noted for pricey condo developments.
A Forbes company spokesman told On the Money that the price of the townhouse was slashed because “during the process of selling, as is often the case in townhouses constructed over 165 years ago, it became evident that significant renovation work would be needed to improve and modernize the house to be competitive with similar townhouses in the Greenwich Village area.”
Over the past few years, the third generation of family ownership — four Forbes brothers (Steve, Timothy, Robert and Christopher) and one sister, Moira — pressed to raise cash, have sold off the Fiji island of Laucala, the Trinchera Ranch and the Lear jet emblazoned with the “Capitalist Tool” motto and have mothballed “The Highlander,” the 165-foot Dutch-built yacht. Keith J. Kelly and Lois Weiss
Party types
Art-loving celebrities and creative types will mix in the land of “Mt. Pom Pom” at a big-name fundraiser May 6 to raise a few extra million for the new Children’s Museum of the Arts in SoHo.
“Imagined Worlds” launches the spring benefit season and is sponsored by Saatchi & Saatchi, Goldman Sachs and Sullivan & Cromwell.
Japanese artist Misaki Kawai has converted the 10,000 square- foot space into the fantastical land of Mt. Pom Pom, with fuzzy animals and characters running wild. Kids can sit on Misaki’s banana-shaped seats and create art, and primp “Party,” an enormous pink dog, with oversized combs.
Julianna Margulies (pictured) and Keith Lieberthal, and Paul Rudd with his wife, Julie, are among those chairing it. Meg Ryan, Brooke Shields and Chris Henchy are also involved. Julie Earle-Levine
’Phoning it in
When it comes to hip-hop’s biggest stars these days, it’s not about making music — it’s about listening to it.
And, naturally, fattening their wallets along the way.
Queens native 50 Cent is the latest hip-hop name to jump into the headphone business.
50 Cent, who’s been moonlighting as a businessman since 2004, when he turned down the offer of a one-time payday from VitaminWater maker Glaceau in favor of Glaceau stock options. Those options skyrocketed in value when Glaceau was sold to Coca-Cola and are now worth hundreds of millions.
The headphone marketplace has ballooned from $93 million in 2008 to a staggering $512 million today, with consumers plunking down well over $100 a pop for high-quality earpieces — a trend first developed by 50 Cent’s mentor, the legendary Dr. Dre, and his Beats by Dre gadgets.
Now, 50 Cent, partnering with Brian Nohe, president of SMS Audio, has rolled out a slew of products, including the $399.95 Sync by 50 line.
“Music now takes a big-time back seat,” a music exec who has worked with both artists told OTM. “These moguls know how much more they can pocket with ventures like these.
“Whenever they want they can put an album out and sell millions because of their established clout. So they put their music projects on hold and tackle these lucrative [deals]. It’s insane to ponder how high this market for headphones has become.”
Dr. Dre was able to sweeten his royalties by inking a partnership deal with Chrysler — and his apprentice 50 Cent, who is CEO of SMS, is already working on a similar idea, in addition,to recruiting “Jersey Shore” star DJ Pauly D to create his own line of headphones.
“Corporate partners are already salivating,” our insider noted. “50 Cent continues flexing his business and marketing muscles . . . he’s always been way ahead of the game.” Joseph Barracato
Forbes, Forbes Media, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Forbes HQ, Greenwich Village, Greenwich Village, MacMillan Publishing Co., Malcolm Forbes, William F. Buckley, Margaret Thatcher, Icon Group, Keith J. Kelly, Caspar Weinberger
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