New magnet "attracting" America's super-rich

VTV.vn - American billionaires with a total net worth of more than 130 billion USD have spent money to buy apartments at The Peninsula in London, an exclusive residential area located inside a luxury hotel.

The average price of an apartment holds the record for London's most expensive building, and the most expensive penthouse sold in London, per square foot. (Photo: VNA)

Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, Citadel hedge fund founder Ken Griffin and WhatsApp founder Jan Koum have all bought homes in the Belgravia complex, according to Land Registry records and people familiar with the matter. Financier Todd Boehly, former NFL owner Dan Snyder and AQR Capital Management founding partner John Liew have also bought apartments.

The five-star hotel, which opens in 2023 and offers views of Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park, has sold 20 apartments. The final six will be available this fall. Residents will have access to a 25-metre indoor pool with a “sculpted ice cave-inspired ceiling”, according to marketing materials seen by The Financial Times, along with a fleet of chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royces.

Estate agents say the sales reflect a wider surge in Americans looking for second and third homes in London in recent months, as US citizens apply for British citizenship in record numbers.

Rupert des Forges, head of luxury central London real estate development at Knight Frank, which sold apartments at The Peninsula, said that American buyers have become the most important group of buyers for luxury central London real estate development. He added of the building: “The average price of an apartment holds the record for the most expensive building in London, and the most expensive penthouse sold in London, per square foot.”

Mr Schwarzman – who bought an apartment at The Peninsula for £40 million – has an estimated net worth of $55.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. In 2022, he bought a 2,500-acre estate on the Wiltshire-Hampshire border for £80 million.

The Peninsula is a relatively small hotel chain, with just 12 locations worldwide , and is considered a luxury brand by the wealthy.

The hotel chain's London base cost more than £1 billion to build. Buyers in the capital can choose from two-bedroom apartments ranging from 2,000 sq ft to three-bedroom apartments of almost 4,000 sq ft. Some apartments have views of Buckingham Palace's gardens and tennis courts.

Consultants say there has been competition among buyers who want to enjoy the benefits of hotel living but still retain the home-away-from-home feel, but agents say smaller apartments, as well as those with less attractive views, are finding it harder to sell.

More than 4,120 US citizens applied for British citizenship in the first half of 2025, the highest number since records began and a 39% increase compared with the same period in 2024, according to official data.

Source: https://vtv.vn/nam-cham-moi-hut-gioi-sieu-giau-my-100251006081435334.htm