>ANSA-FOCUS/The sale of the Pierre, Sindona's house-hotel in Manhattan, is skipped

The sale of the Pierre, the legendary house-hotel where, among others, Michele Sindona and Liz Taylor lived in Manhattan, is skipped: a group of widows who have lived there for decades have blocked the takeover of a Saudi tycoon 'recruited' by Treasury Minister Howard Lutnick who wanted to buy the luxurious but dilapidated building on Central Park for two billion dollars.

"A group of old ladies, widows and divorcees: look what we managed to do! Without us we would have already been sent away", exulted Tina Beriro, 86 years old and who has lived there for over 20 years, when the news arrived that the billionaire Motasem Khashoggi, a 56 year old Harvard graduate, had not paid the 100 million dollars deposit needed to continue the operation in time. The project involved a billion-dollar renovation entrusted to the Dorchester Collection, the Sultan of Brunei's luxury hotel chain, to achieve which the owners of the approximately 70 apartments - including the widows and Lutnick - would have had to sell and move.

Donald Trump's minister was in favor of the transaction.

It was he who 'recruited' Khashoggi (from the same family as the arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi and the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, murdered in 2018 and torn to pieces in Istanbul) as a potential buyer of the building in which he himself, despite never having personally lived there, owns a 16-room apartment, four terraces and even an internal basketball court. According to documents examined by the New York Times, Lutnick would have made a profit of 60 million dollars from the sale, while another 30 million would have gone as a commission to Newmark, a real estate company previously led by him and in which two of his sons work.

The condominium battle had split the jet set: singer Art Garfunkel and stylist Tory Burch were also against the sale, while former Disney CEO Michael Eisner had sided with Khashoggi and Lutnick. During a heated meeting, Eisner criticized the current management: "Then sell. If you're not happy, leave", Burch ordered him.

The Pierre is an icon for New York despite the fact that, as with all old buildings in Manhattan, its infrastructure is failing. Inaugurated in 1930, in almost a century it has hosted, in addition to Taylor and Sindona, Audrey Hepburn, Ari Onassis, Cary Grant and generations of rich New Yorkers, even if behind the glamor hide water infiltrations, corroded pipes and antiquated fire systems. The hotel, managed by India's Taj Hotels, loses millions of dollars a year and requires expensive repairs.

While the widows, for the moment, remain in their homes, the Saudi asked for the last word: "They have their palace, I kept my money. I don't know who lost the most."