Wealth

The new billionaire 'beach bunker' in Miami

When billionaire hedgies and Wall Street's wealthy head to Miami, they're increasingly flocking to one building: Faena House.

The 18-story waterfront tower in Miami Beach has quickly become the favorite digs of several financial "Masters of the Universe" from New York, London and other major cities.

Faena House in Miami Beach
Source: Douglas Elliman

According to sales records obtained by CNBC, billionaire financial titans who have purchased units in the new building include: Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, Apollo Global's Leon Black and Brevan Howard's Alan Howard.

Real estate analysts and brokers compared Faena to New York City's 15 Central Park West, the Robert Stern-designed condominium tower that counts Blankfein and several billionaire hedge-funders as residents. The residence quickly became New York City's "it" building when it was completed in 2008.

"It's like 15 CPW in that it's another hedge-fund building that's become an outlier and really stands out," said Jonathan Miller, president of appraisal and research firm Miller Samuel. "Every developer hopes to create this kind of building, but they don't always click."

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Faena is already clicking — even though construction just finished last month.

As previously reported, Griffin purchased the penthouse at Faena for $60 million — a record price for Miami, according to people familiar with the deal. The penthouse includes more than 12,500 square feet of living space and a massive outdoor deck with a 70-foot-long infinity pool.

According to real estate documents, Blankfein purchased a unit on the eighth floor for $9.5 million, and British billionaire investor Howard paid $14.5 million for a unit on the fourth floor.

Craig Effron, co-founder of Scoggin Capital Management, paid $9.2 million for a unit on the floor six, while Brian Kwait of Odyssey Investment Partners paid $9.8 million for one on nine.

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Documents also show that Apollo billionaire Black also purchased a unit in the building, but the purchase price and floor has yet to be disclosed.

But not everyone in Faena is a finance titan — some are simply rich.

Documents show that other residents include Florida sugar baron Jose Fanjul, who bought a $5.2 million unit on the eighth floor; Lionsgate Entertainment's Mark Rachesky, who paid $13.5 million for two 11th floor units; and Daryl Foster, CEO of Addison Lee, who paid $8.8 million for a seventh floor unit.

So what makes Faena so special?

Faena House in Miami Beach
Source: Douglas Elliman

Like 15 CPW, it was designed by a so-called "starchitect" — in this case, Norman Foster. The building's swooping, clean lines are complemented by the Faena's stunning views of the water and prime Miami Beach location just north of the Art Deco quarter.

The building has all the amenities desired by today's super-rich — a gym, pool, spa, concierge and underground garage.

"It's the combination of everything that makes it work," Miller said.