Robert F. Smith: Richest African American Buys Record-Setting Penthouse

The chief executive of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, Robert F. Smith, has been revealed as the buyer who smashed a downtown New York City sales record last month with his $59.05 million purchase of a triplex penthouse in Chelsea.

Smith is currently the wealthiest African American, with a net worth of $4.4 billion, according to Forbes.

The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Smith’s mighty purchase price surpasses that for the penthouse at condo conversion Walker Tower, also in Chelsea, which sold for $51 million in 2014, according to Curbed.

Smith, who’s based in Austin, Texas, is the first African-American chairman of the board of Carnegie Hall, the Journal adds.

His penthouse is one of just five homes at a development designed by Peter Marino that rose on the site of a gas station at West 24th Street and 10th Avenue. It’s called the Getty, in part after the station that was demolished.

Smith’s new home is a combination of a duplex penthouse and an additional lower-level apartment, which add up to a whopping 10,000 square feet. The home has two master suites, four additional bedrooms, two kitchens, two great rooms and a private roof terrace.

Building amenities include an art gallery and a museum on the lower floors.