A Saudi prince could lift New York's iconic Plaza Hotel out of a messy fraud scandal that's crumbled its appeal.
Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal has partnered with Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. to seize ownership from the Plaza's landlord Subrata Roy, who's been jailed in India for allegedly scamming investors in that country for billions of dollars, according to the New York Post.
The Fifth Avenue hotel, both the setting for children's series "Eloise" as well as Donald Trump's second wedding, has fallen into disrepair amid its owner's legal troubles, the Post reports.
Ashkenazky, headed by Ben Ashkenazy and Michael Alpert, would purchase a controlling portion of Al-Waleed's stake in the hotel, the Post reports.
The hotel won't be Ashkenazy's first real estate move in Manhattan. The corporation also owns the NYLO and Marriott East Side hotels, office buildings 625 and 635 Madison Ave., and a building that houses Barneys New York flagship, along with residential property across the U.S.
The deal could also resurrect the Plaza's shuttered Oak Room and Oak Bar and Edwardian Room, an elegant suite where Italian designer Angelo Galasso once lived, the Post reports. The new owners also want to give the 282 rooms of the hotel, which opened in 1907, an update.