A stretch of ultra-luxury skyscrapers along Manhattan’s southern edge of Central Park, commonly known as Billionaires’ Row, has become a symbol of extreme wealth. Yet behind the glass façades and panoramic penthouses, many apartments remain dark for most of the year.
According to industry estimates, nearly half of the units in the seven tallest residential towers in New York City are currently unoccupied. That includes Central Park Tower, completed in 2020 and the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere at more than 470 metres.
Development of the area accelerated in the early 2010s, with landmark projects such as One57, 432 Park Avenue and 220 Central Park South coming to market within the same decade. Units were often priced at an average of $30 million (€25.2 million), targeting a narrow pool of global ultra-high-net-worth buyers.
Despite record-breaking sales, a significant portion of apartments remain unsold or rarely occupied. In 2023, Central Park Tower still had dozens of unsold units. By early 2025, developer Extell reportedly refinanced 18 unsold residences with a $270 million loan, reflecting ongoing challenges in fully selling out the building.
Real Estate as a Financial Vault
For many billionaires, these properties function less as homes and more as secure financial instruments.
Luxury apartments in Manhattan are widely regarded among the ultra-rich as “safe haven” assets, comparable to gold or blue-chip art. Wealth can be parked in US dollar-denominated property, providing insulation against inflation, currency volatility and political instability in other regions.
The properties also serve as collateral. Owners can leverage their apartments to access liquidity without selling, preserving both capital and prestige.
Another factor is anonymity. Units are frequently purchased through limited liability companies (LLCs), obscuring the true owner’s identity. For high-profile individuals, this structure limits public scrutiny and reduces visibility of cross-border wealth flows.
The result is what some observers call the “ghost tower” phenomenon: apartments that remain unlit and uninhabited for much of the year. For ultra-wealthy owners, rental income is often insignificant compared to the risks of tenant management or potential wear and tear on pristine interiors.
Keeping a property empty ensures it remains in near-perfect condition, ready for resale or financing when needed.
An Exclusive but Elusive Community
Billionaires’ Row is arguably one of the most exclusive residential clusters in the world. Yet it is not a traditional neighbourhood in the social sense. Many owners rarely overlap, spending only brief periods in their Manhattan residences before returning to estates in the Hamptons, villas in Europe, or properties in Asia.
High-profile buyers have included hedge fund founder Ken Griffin, who purchased a record-setting $238 million penthouse at 220 Central Park South in 2019, and Michael Dell, who bought a penthouse at One57 for $100.5 million in 2014, then the most expensive residential sale in New York City.
Other notable owners include Bill Ackman and Daniel Och, alongside international buyers such as Saudi businessman Fawaz Alhokair, Hong Kong investor Silas Chou and British musician Sting.
Yet for every identifiable owner, dozens more remain shielded behind corporate entities, reinforcing the area’s reputation for opacity.
Inside these towers, staff often outnumber residents at any given time. Buildings operate with 24-hour concierge services, security personnel and private amenities maintained in constant readiness, even when the owners have not visited for months or years.
Political Scrutiny Intensifies
The concentration of wealth in largely empty luxury towers has drawn renewed attention amid fiscal pressures in New York City.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently unveiled his first preliminary budget since taking office, warning of a $5.4 billion (€4.5 billion) shortfall. His proposal includes a potential 2 percent increase in personal income taxes for residents earning more than $1 million annually.
As a second option, Mamdani floated a 9.5 percent increase in the city’s property tax rate, raising the average from 12.28 percent to roughly 13.45 percent. The measure would affect more than three million residential units and 100,000 commercial properties across the five boroughs.
Business groups and property owners argue that higher taxes could dampen investment and push costs onto renters. The mayor, however, maintains that the wealthiest New Yorkers must contribute more to address inherited fiscal gaps and sustain essential services.
Why It Matters
The phenomenon of under-occupied luxury towers highlights a broader tension in global cities: the intersection of extreme wealth, housing supply constraints and municipal finances.
While Billionaires’ Row represents some of the most valuable square footage on Earth, its dimly lit skyline has come to symbolise a growing debate about affordability, taxation and the social function of property ownership.
For now, Manhattan’s ghost towers remain both monuments to global capital and flashpoints in the politics of inequality.
