Reliance Industries Limited Chairman Mukesh Ambani had made another big move. India’s richest man has reportedly bought a luxury building in New York City’s Tribeca neighbourhood. He paid $17.4 million for the property at 11 Hubert Street, according to a report by The RealDeal.
The building had been vacant for nearly 10 years. Previous owners had drawn up ambitious plans to convert it into a single-family mansion, but those never came to life.
Ambani’s purchase comes just two years after he sold his two-bedroom Manhattan condo for $9 million. That apartment, located in the West Village, overlooked the Hudson River and was sold in August 2023.
The seller of the Tribeca property was tech billionaire Robert Pera, chairman and CEO of Ubiquiti. Pera had purchased the building in 2018 for about $20 million. Soon after, he hired architect Eric Cobb, who submitted a plan to redesign the 17,000-square-foot industrial building into a grand mansion.
The proposed design included a massive primary suite with an office, an NBA-sized half basketball court, a formal dining room with bar space, and a double-height living room opening into a courtyard.
However, the project never moved forward. In 2021, Pera listed the property for $25 million, along with the architectural plans from Cobb and another design by Maya Lin Studios. Lin’s plan envisioned an even larger 20,000-square-foot megamansion with seven bedrooms, 5,000 square feet of outdoor space, a half-Olympic swimming pool, and a spacious breakfast room.
Despite the impressive designs, the building remained unsold until Ambani’s purchase through RIL USA, the American arm of Reliance Industries. The deal was finalised for less than what Pera had originally paid, giving Ambani an edge in one of New York’s most desirable neighbourhoods.
Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
