It only took eight years.
A British financier has snapped up billionaire Vincent Viola’s Upper East Side townhouse at 12. E. 69th St. for the slashed price of $59 million, according to property records and sources.
That may sound like a lot of dough, but the Versailles-style home, built in 1883, first hit the market for $114 million in 2013.
At the time it was the city’s most expensive home on the market.
The name of the new owner, Alan Howard, co-founder of Brevan Howard Asset Management, was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.Â
Viola, who owns the Florida Panthers hockey team, had been then-President Trump’s one-time nominee for secretary of the Army.
A Brooklyn truck driver’s son, Viola launched his career as a stockbroker before becoming head of the New York Mercantile Exchange. He opted out of running for the cabinet because he said it would be too difficult to untangle his business ties, which included government contracts.
The double-wide mansion is 40-feet-wide and features seven bedrooms.
Modern updates include a famed red velvet movie theater with a 12-foot screen and balcony, a pool, a sauna and a panic room. The home even boasts a recording studio and a duplex library — along with healthy details like purified water and a top notch security system, not to mention its Italian granite staircase and onyx elevator.
Viola and his wife Terry bought the home for $20 million in 2005, according to property records.
In 2017, a Chinese businessman named Ye Jianming plunked down an $8 million deposit to buy the house for $80 million. Then he disappeared. The deposit stayed with the Violas, according to reports.
The listing broker was Brown Harris Stevens’ Paula Del Nunzio. In January, the Violas also sold their Brooklyn mansion at 8 Montague Terrace for $25.5 million, which was a Brooklyn record.