The late comedian Joan Rivers' elegant and lavishly designed Manhattan apartment has sold for its asking price of $28 million.
Joan Rivers' Manhattan penthouse spans the top three floors of the building at 1 E. 62nd street, and has four bedrooms and 4 ½ bathrooms. The triplex apartment features ornate decorations, soaring ceilings and gilded balconies, which Rivers once said would be "what Marie Antoinette would have done, if she had money." This was the very statement the TV personality jokingly made in the 2010 documentary "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work," reported Zillow.
Apparently the ill-fated Marie Antoinette was the historical figure Joan Rivers had most identified herself with. In an interview for Vanity Fair's February 1997 issue, the comedian told the magazine "She had great style." She even revealed wanting to live in eighteenth-century France, "But with plumbing and plastic surgery," said Rivers.
The 5,100 square foot penthouse also features an opulent ballroom and a music room with 23-foot ceilings, adorned with antique boiserie paneling and two ornate fireplaces. The wood-paneled library also has a fireplace, with views of the park and the Manhattan skyline. A second floor mezzanine overlooks the ballroom and leads to a master suite with French doors that open onto a private terrace with more views of the park. Separate but adjoining guest apartments have 2 bedrooms, 2 baths and their own large living room with a fireplace and eat-in kitchen.
The home has been on and off the market since 2009. According to CNBC, the deal closed earlier this week, for the full asking price of $28 million. Sources close to the comedienne's family told the news outlet that the property was sold to "Middle East royalty." Sources also declined to reveal the identity of the buyers and where they reside in the Middle East.
Joan Rivers passed away unexpectedly in September 2014, after undergoing an endoscopy. She was 81 years old.
