Former Citigroup (NYSE: C) Chief Executive Chuck Prince isn't going to feel the pinch of the worst real estate market in a generation that he helped create.Prince has put his place in Greenwich, Connecticut -- a tony New York City suburb that is home to countless hedge funds and celebrities such as Tommy Hilfinger and Regis Philbin -- up for sale at the asking price of $6.15 million, according to Bloomberg News. The Tudor-style manor house was sold in 1996 for $2.27 million, according to ZIllow.com. By my calculations, that would be a profit of 170%.
Too bad that most homeowners aren't as fortunate as Mr. Prince. The National Association of Realtors is due to release its figures for December home sales later this week, and it isn't going to be pretty. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News expect sales to have fallen 1% to 4.95 million, the fewest since records began in 1999.
The former Wall Street hot-shot, though, doesn't need to concern himself with the needs of ordinary folks anymore. He was pushed out the door at Citigroup with a retirement package worth about $60 million. "By retiring rather than being fired, he preserved the right to keep about 743,640 Citigroup shares with a market value of about $26.7 million, compensation consultant Brian Foley based in White Plains, New York, said at the time," Bloomberg notes.
Prince's realtor told Bloomberg that the Greenwich house, which includes an entrance hall with barrel-vaulted ceilings, an exercise room with a sauna and shower and a dining room that sits 12, "no longer meets his needs." Prince also has a place on New York's Park Avenue.
It must be nice to be able to live your life not having to face the consequences of your actions.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-21-2008 @ 2:20PM
tim said...
I can't believe how many articles whine about how unfair Wall Street is. Prince deserves all his money and more, he played the game correctly and got out, shareholders did not. Learn to not trust these CEOs and you'll be able to have multi-million dollar houses too!
Tim
http://www.timothysykes.com
1-21-2008 @ 4:01PM
can'tstandchuckprincebutdislikegrandstandingjournalistsmore said...
"The Tudor-style manor house was sold in 1996 for $2.27 million, according to ZIllow.com. By my calculations, that would be a profit of 170%."
Even with the recent downturn in housing prices...notice the date of purchase is mentioned for Prince, but not for the "little guy". Prince has held his asset for ~11 years...I highly doubt that the average individual who's been in their homes that long hasn't realized a similar gain.
Prince, who I'm in now way defending, bought low and is selling (relatively) high. Aren't those the lessons that blogs like this are supposed to teach. For once I find myself in agreement with an opinion of tim sykes...bloggingstocks, you've disappointed one reader for sure with this post.
1-21-2008 @ 5:16PM
BamBam said...
No doubt, the place is crawling with termites, a fact that Prince conveniently failed to disclose to potential buyers.
2-01-2008 @ 10:26AM
Robert said...
Tim, the problem is....some jerks sold debt to people who couldn't afford it, then sold it to suckers who bought it.
Pyramid scheme plain and simple.
Oh and by the way I play the system just fine myself, i walked away from lots of debt, and got to keep all the toys...guess i played it right too right?
And just for extra hatred? I'm getting new cards, and those will be used, and never ever paid....bwhahahahahah
Of course i'm kidding, but i guess that would be me playing the system right. Screwing everyone around me, and stealing.