NZ's Google-Facebook power couple sell New York apartment for $US11.2m
He's one Google's most senior managers. She runs Facebook's HR. Together, they develop real estate on the side ... with not so much success.
Hot Topic
Hawke’s Bay
LATEST: Former Google star CRAIG NEVILL-MANNING on his new tech project
Craig and Kirsten Nevill-Manning are one of New Zealand's most successful expatriate couples – certainly in the IT category.
Mr Nevill-Manning (41) met Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin while doing his PhD at Stanford. Later, he became one of the pair's first hires. Today, he's a director or engineering for Google, based in New York.
The "compressed full-text indexing" co-invented by Mr Nevill-Manning remains a central component of company's search engine (the ex-pat actually turned down the Google co-founders when they first offered him a role in 1999. But even when he finally relented, in 2002, staff were still being offered stock at US30cents a share. Friday it closed at $US644.50).
Ms Nevill-Manning (also 41) is director international HR and global recruiting for Facebook.
The Wall Street Journal reports the dynamic duo have sold their Manhattan apartment for $US11.2 million ($NZ14 million).
That's $US3 million more than they paid for the TriBeCa penthouse in 2006, but well shy of the $US14.5 million for which it was first listed in February 2010.
A real estate agent quoted by the Journal said the couple had renovated the space, but would not comment on how much they had spent.
The English castle with human slide look
The Nevill-Mannings have already moved on to their next project. The pair bought a $US6.6 million property the Journal describes as "one of the most unusual living spaces in Manhattan castle-like rooftop triplex. The downtown apartment is topped by a copper dome, the interior of which he has equipped with a multi-story, stainless-steel human slide." The slide twists around the entire apartment.
The couple have already spent around $US2 million redeveloping their new digs, including the addition of 5m high semi-circular windows that offer 360-degree views.
Hopefully, when the time comes, they'll get a little closer to the asking price than their first effort.
Chris Keall
Mon, 14 Feb 2011
Mon, 14 Feb 2011
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
NZ's Google-Facebook power couple sell New York apartment for $US11.2m
12285