IT IS apparently no urban legend that a certain neighbourhood in New York City has more money than some of the impoverished countries out there.
Top donors to the previous presidential campaign came from the 10021 postcode here, according to a news report.
In Manhattan, there is high-wattage prestige in certain zipcodes and 10021 is a status symbol of sorts.
It hosts families with some of the highest incomes in the nation, said Anthony Grifa, who guides visitors on I’ll Take Manhattan walking tours.
“This is where some of the most expensive homes are,” he said. The zipcode covers the zone between Fifth Avenue and East River, from East 69th to East 76th Streets.
Billionaires Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch are among the well-heeled who have offices or homes around there.
Grifa also takes visitors for walking tours called Mansions, Millions and Magnificence, to marvel at the architecture along Fifth Avenue Millionaires’ Mile.
No qualms to sharing a bit of gossip, Grifa pointed to a building where The Donald used to stay when he was married to first wife Ivana.
“A doorman there once told me that The Donald was the snootiest and cheapest guy in that building,” he said.
Incidentally, Trump has donated to the presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. (US laws allowed individuals to donate a maximum of US$2,300 (RM7,400) to each candidate for the primary contests, and another US$2,300 for the general election.)
Hillary raised US$118mil (RM381.9mil) throughout last year while Barack Obama netted US$103mil (RM333.4mil).
The race to Washington requires money to oil the campaign machinery, and Obama has become a star in bringing in the dough.
He beat Hillary in the money battle when he raised US$32mil (RM103.6mil) last month alone, a record for someone who has not even clinched the nomination yet. That sum meant that he raised about US$1mil (RM3.2mil) each day.
Last month, an Obama fund-raiser held in a grand Manhattan hotel soaked up US$700,000 (RM2.3mil) from supporters like actor Richard Gere, director Spike Lee and model Iman, among others.
Donors to presidential campaigns have ranged from the teacher next door to New York supermarket tycoon John A. Catsimatidis, investor Carl C. Icahn and Brooklyn-born actor Eddie Murphy.
When hometown paper New York Post announced that it was endorsing Obama instead of Hillary, it raised eyebrows here for what was seen as a snub to the New York senator.
The tabloid’s owner, Murdoch, owns a three-storey penthouse on Fifth Avenue, which he purchased for US$44mil (RM142.4mil) in 2005.
Apparently, the 20-room triplex is located in a building which is also home sweet home to financiers and philanthropists.
In January, Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz reportedly paid US$25mil (RM80.9mil) for a Fifth Avenue duplex, a four-bedroom pre-war property that faces Central Park.
Fifth Avenue is also home to the world’s largest Gucci store, sprawling across 4.273 sq metres over three floors.
Tiffany & Co, the renowned jeweller, has its flagship store on Fifth Avenue. So does Sony, Harry Winston and toy store F.A.O. Schwarz.
Top hotels such as The Peninsula and The Plaza are located nearby, too.
“This is one of the wealthiest and most elegant neighbourhoods in the United States,” Grifa said of Fifth Avenue.
“Most of New York’s wealthiest live here,” he said. “About 20 of the estimated 30 New York billionaires have homes in this area.”
Home ownership on Fifth Avenue is for the privileged few.
There was a board of trustees (of an apartment building) that required tenants to have US$100mil (RM323mil) in assets before they could move in, Grifa noted.
“Owning a Fifth Avenue apartment is like having a front row seat to the cultural and social life in New York,” said Ryan Brown, who helps run www.famegame.com, a site that provides connections to “influential people, parties, and projects in New York City”. It gets about 100,000 visitors each month.
Awesome facilities are available in these opulent homes – media rooms with arcade games, wall-sized flat screen TVs, rooftop terraces with outdoor cooking facilities and fireplaces; expensive and contemporary art, with everything at your finger tips.
Still, depending on the New Yorker you speak to, Brown said, Fifth Avenue could just be another street. Or, a place that stirs up scenes from Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
