Fire-damaged penthouse tied to a convicted Chinese fraudster lists for $24M — a staggering downfall from its initial $86M asking price
The Manhattan penthouse tied to convicted Chinese fraudster Guo Wengui is back on the market for $24 million, according to a StreetEasy listing update — a staggering downfall from its initial $86 million asking price.
Guo is also known by his real name, Ho Wan Kwok, or by Miles Kwok.
Either way, Guo was initially accepted by the notoriously stuffy co-op board at the storied Sherry-Netherland, at 781 Fifth Ave., thanks to a letter from former British prime minister Tony Blair. Blair had also dined at the apartment, sources say.
But Guo turned into the co-op board's worst nightmare. He lived in this unit, with its breathtaking views of Central Park, which he purchased for $67.5 million in 2015, while he waited for political asylum that never came.
Instead, by March of 2023, the FBI showed up at dawn to arrest him for orchestrating a billion-dollar fraud scheme. But while FBI agents where still at the penthouse, a mysterious blaze erupted.
Sources at the time told The Post they believed the fire was set off remotely, and that the entire apartment had been wired to record guests.
This past July, the self-exiled businessman was convicted by a court in Manhattan of defrauding his online followers in the investment and cryptocurrency scheme, in part, to buy a $26.5 million New Jersey mansion and a $37 million yacht. He was found guilty on nine of 12 criminal counts against him, including racketeering and money laundering. His sentencing is reportedly scheduled for Nov. 19.
Guo's faces decades in jail and/or deportation to China, where he also faces criminal charges.
The penthouse is stunning, but in rough shape following the fire, which has been one reason why the price of the apartment plummeted, sources told Gimme Shelter . Guo had first tried to flip the home for $86 million the same year he bought it, but there were no takers. The dwelling is a 15-room combo assembled by the prior owner, the late Gilbert Haroche, a co-founder of Liberty Travel.
In an interview from the art-filled penthouse with Gimme Shelter in 2018, Guo presented himself as a civic-minded billionaire who desperately wanted to destroy the Chinese Communist Party. But his story was complicated.
Guo made his fortune in China, in real estate, thanks in part to his relationship with a top Chinese intelligence official, Ma Jian — who was then sentenced to life in prison for taking $15.9 million in bribes from Guo. In the interview, Guo said the CCP wanted to "break" him. "But I don't crumble under pressure. I get stronger from it," Guo said .
"I have 60 custom-made Brioni suits and handmade Louis Vuitton shoes. I don't care about things. I'm a Buddhist," he added in the interview. "But the CCP wanted to take everything away from me — my wealth, my freedom and my dignity. All of this helps show that they can't."
The full-floor penthouse is 7,000 square feet. It comes with six bedrooms and 100 feet overlooking Central Park, along with panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline and three large terraces overlooking the city. Work has been done to create a white space where the fire damage had been, according to the current listing.
The home features a corner living room, a library with a wet bar, a formal dining room and a corner den, along with multiple bedrooms and dressing rooms.
The listing broker is Serena Boardman of Sotheby's, who could not be reached for comment.
