Press

Media mogul David Geffen has paid $54 million for a penthouse duplex owned by socialite Denise Rich on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, according to people familiar with the situation. The deal closed last week, they added.

The 12,000-square-foot duplex at 785 Fifth Avenue has an additional 5,000 square feet of exterior space with wrap-around terraces, making it one of the largest apartments in Manhattan. With seven bedrooms, eleven bathrooms, it overlooks Central Park. The upper level features a grand salon with marble floors, 11-foot ceilings, and custom mahogany doors. The lower level has a media room, billiard room, a gym and a professional recording studio.

Mr. Geffen, a co-founder of DreamWorks, currently owns an apartment in the same building, right below the penthouse. Mr. Geffen did not return a request for comment.

Ms. Rich was asking $65 million for the property, which she put on the market in January. And although the $54 million Mr. Geffen paid is almost 17% off Ms. Rich’s asking price, it still marks the highest price ever paid for a co-op in Manhattan, according to Jonathan Miller, president at Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers & Consultants.

Bonnie Pfeifer Evans, Noble Black, and Chazz Levi of Corcoran represented Ms. Rich in the transaction