- Two sets of billionaires are feuding over the height of a planned luxury tower in Miami Beach, Katherine Kallergis reported for The Real Deal.
- The billionaire developers of a planned Aman-branded luxury tower, OKO Group's Vladislav Doronin and Len Blavatnik of Access Industries, are seeking approval for a 47-foot height increase.
- But the residents of neighboring condo tower Faena House, which include former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin, and a former US ambassador, are strongly opposed.
- In a letter to the Miami Beach Planning Board, the condo owners said the taller tower would "obliterate" their ocean views and "cast extensive shade and darkness."
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Two billionaire factions are feuding over the height of a planned luxury tower in Miami Beach, The Real Deal reported.
Billionaires Vladislav Doronin, CEO of developer OKO Group, and Len Blavatnik, chairman of investment firm Access Industries, are asking for a 47-foot height increase for their planned Aman-branded luxury tower in Miami Beach, per the report. But the ultra-wealthy residents of the neighboring Faena House, a luxe condominium tower, are not pleased about the possibility of their multimillion-dollar penthouses being overshadowed.
In a letter sent to the Miami Beach Planning Board on July 24 and signed by 27 Faena House residents — a copy of which was viewed by Business Insider — the condo owners said the new tower "... will obliterate our views to the beach and ocean, cast extensive shade and darkness, and cause other multiple deleterious impacts to our units."
The Aman tower was originally approved to be 203 feet tall — the same height as Faena House. The new proposed height is 250 feet.
"A massive, 250-foot structure was never contemplated nor expected and not what we were advised when we purchased our units," the owners added in the letter.
The Faena House residents who signed the letter to the board include billionaire hedge-fund executive Ken Griffin (who's worth $15 billion), former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, hedge-fund manager Jamie Dinan (worth $2 billion), former US ambassador Paul Cejas, British hedge-fund founder Alan Howard (worth $1.7 billion), and Thomas Stern, the managing director of Chieftain Capital Management.
Griffin, head of the Chicago-based Citadel hedge fund, bought Faena House's penthouse in 2015 for a record-breaking $60 million. He's also the owner of the priciest home ever sold in the US, a $238 million Manhattan penthouse he picked up in January 2019. He did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
The exact net worth of OKO Group head Doronin, who also owns Aman Resorts, is unknown, but it's been estimated at upwards of $1 billion. He bought luxury resorts chain Aman Resorts in 2014 for a reported $358 million. The developer and hotelier's personal real-estate holdings reportedly include a full-floor apartment overlooking Central Park in New York City, a $16 million home on Star Island in Miami, and the only private home designed by late legendary architect Zaha Hadid.
Blavatnik, the Aman tower's investor, is worth upwards of $25 billion, per Forbes. Through his firm, he declined to comment for this story. Doronin did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
An attorney for the developers, Neisen Kasdin, told The Real Deal last week that the proposed Aman tower is set back farther from the street and that "if anything, Faena House will be casting a shadow over this building." Kasdin did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
The Miami Beach Planning Board confirmed to Business Insider that it plans to review the Aman tower's proposed height increase on August 25 and then provide a recommendation to the City Commission, which has the authority to approve the proposal.
Doronin, who's also building an office tower and two other condominium towers in Miami, told Business Insider last year that the Florida city has become a prime location for real-estate investment in recent years thanks, in part, to its quality of life.
"It is attractive to business owners, CEOs, and those working in a high-stress job, as it enables them to de-stress and recharge after working hours," Doronin said.
It seems the CEOs of Faena House, however, may not be able to de-stress until they're assured their ocean views are no longer under threat.
SEE ALSO: An unknown buyer just dropped $100 million on a penthouse on New York City's Billionaires' Row
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