CELEBRITY
Heartbreaking šLeonardo DiCaprio Loses $2 Million On an Apartment He Never Lived in
many of the luxury apartments tumored across Manhattan are bought and paid for with millions of dollars, and yet they lie empty. Whole towers of massive duplexes, owned yet unoccupied, vanity purchases made by Saudi billionaires and Russian oligarchs that were never meant to be lived in. Theyāre simply equity, or bragging rights. Hell, thereās a whole hideous quarter-mile-high totem to this practice currently destroying the cityās skyline.
Itās just a fact of New York City that oftentimes rich people buy apartments that they never live in. Even celebrities do it. Celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio. Yes, the FernGully to our collective There Will Be Blood purchased a Manhattan apartment in the East Villageāa home for āwellnessā endorsed by Deepak Chopraāin 2013 for $10 million, and yet never moved in. Now heās sold it at a loss, for $8 million. He lost $2 million on the deal! And he never even lived there. Isnāt that sad?
Itās sad for DiCaprioās bank account, of course. Itās sad for Deepak Chopra. Itās sad for the free parking space DiCaprio was given, to park his ā$100,000 Fisker Karma hybrid,ā according to Page Six. If anyone had any idea what a Fisker Karma hybrid is, then Iām sure weād find something sad there too. The whole thing is sad!
Though, we should be careful to note that Page Six actually only says DiCaprio ādidnāt spend any time there.ā So saying he never moved in may not be accurate. Perhaps DiCaprio did spend a few forlorn nights there, before leaving to go play tough-guys with IƱƔrritu in Canada and never returning. Which actually makes it sadder, doesnāt it? The house was not ignored; it was abandoned, a crueler, more active deed. Real estate is a cold business, of course, so we should not be surprised by this transactional story. But to think that Leonardo DiCaprio could have been living right near us (us writing this, anyway) for three years and instead chose to give it all up at a loss . . . Thatās pretty devastating. We all came so close. And then fell so short.
Who knows where Leonardo DiCaprio might try to put roots down next. A tree house in Borneo. A sleek eco-loft in Montevideo. A dilapidated outbuilding on Ed Begley Jr.ās cauliflower plantation. Wherever, and whatever, it is, we just hope he actually makes it his home. Thatās hard to do for someone whose yachting schedule has him out of the house for some six months of the year. But he should try. Because home is important. Because we already have too many cities filled with the ghosts of people who never lived there.