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Media mogul Barry Diller pounced on one of Manhattan’s most storied addresses, snagging President John F. Kennedy’s onetime favorite penthouse for $11 million.  

Diller, 84, has lived at the Carlyle hotel for 30 years. So when the crown jewel of the building hit the market — the very penthouse where Kennedy practically ran the country between Washington trips — he wasn’t about to let it slip away. 

“I’ve lived happily at the Carlyle for over 30 years, and when the penthouse came up I bought it in 5 minutes, and I hope to live in it happily forever,” Diller told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the transaction.


  Billionaire media mogul Barry Diller purchased the storied Carlyle penthouse long associated with John F. Kennedy for $11 million. Tamara Beckwith Billionaire media mogul Barry Diller purchased the storied Carlyle penthouse long associated with John F. Kennedy for $11 million. Tamara Beckwith

  The Upper East Side co-op, once dubbed the “New York White House,” was Kennedy’s regular residence during visits to the city in the 1950s and early ’60s. Bettmann The Upper East Side co-op, once dubbed the “New York White House,” was Kennedy’s regular residence during visits to the city in the 1950s and early ’60s. Bettmann

Property records confirm an entity tied to the IAC chairman closed on the duplex co-op atop the legendary Upper East Side hotel. 

The unit is the same two-story perch where the 35th president held court so frequently during the 1950s and ’60s that New Yorkers started calling it the “New York White House.” 

And Kennedy was such a fixture that the hotel had a phone line installed just for him. 


  John F. Kennedy with Dag Hammarskjold, Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second secretary-general of the United Nations, following a breakfast meeting at the Hotel Carlyle. Bettmann Archive John F. Kennedy with Dag Hammarskjold, Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second secretary-general of the United Nations, following a breakfast meeting at the Hotel Carlyle. Bettmann Archive

  Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller attend the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 15, 2026. FilmMagic Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller attend the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 15, 2026. FilmMagic

Former owner Karen Pritzker — film producer, Hyatt hotel heiress and cousin of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker — sold her longtime home to Diller in the fast deal. She and her late husband, investor Michael Vlock, paid $12.5 million for the place in 2007. She initially listed the residence at $12.99 million.

The Kennedy fingerprints on this apartment are literal. Before the 1961 inauguration, JFK and Jackie had the oriel bay window installed, creating the cozy breakfast nook that still overlooks Central Park today, the listing notes. 

After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, Jackie brought Caroline and John Jr. to the Carlyle and stayed nearly 10 months — not in this particular suite, but close enough that the children used the lobby as their rainy-day playground while the world outside was still making sense of what had happened. 


  Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle. Stefano Giovannini for NY Post Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle. Stefano Giovannini for NY Post

  Another view of the Bemelmans Bar. Stefano Giovannini for NY Post Another view of the Bemelmans Bar. Stefano Giovannini for NY Post

Made up of two bedrooms and 2.5 baths, the unit boasts a corner living and dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows and views stretching across the park and reservoir. It also holds a second oversized living room and a sun-drenched solarium with a wet bar. 

Upstairs, a 23-foot terrace built for sunset dinners stands above the city’s noise. The primary bathroom is finished in onyx. The kitchen comes loaded with Sub-Zero, Miele and Gaggenau appliances. The staircase connecting the two floors is a sweeping Art Deco statement piece. 

The Carlyle itself needs little introduction to anyone who has spent time on the Upper East Side. Opened around 1930 on Madison Avenue, it has spent nearly a century being effortlessly chic.

Bemelmans Bar — where Ludwig Bemelmans painted the whimsical murals himself in exchange for a year’s rent and a tab — remains one of the great rooms in New York. 


  Following JFK’s assassination, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her children briefly lived at the hotel. Bettmann Archive Following JFK’s assassination, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her children briefly lived at the hotel. Bettmann Archive

Café Carlyle, the intimate cabaret tucked inside, has hosted Bobby Short, Eartha Kitt and Woody Allen’s Monday night jazz sets for decades. Presidents, princes, rock stars, fashion designers — the Carlyle has housed them all. And that’s perhaps why Diller, married to fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, has called it home for 30 years. 

The co-op residences inside the hotel come with the full white-glove treatment: concierge staff, housekeeping, the Valmont Spa and the Yves Durif salon. 

Meanwhile, last year Diller paid $45 million for a waterfront slice of Miami Beach’s North Bay Road. His IAC media empire runs the Daily Beast and People. 

Listing agent Roberta Golubock of Sotheby’s International Realty did not respond to requests for comment.

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