Jackie Kennedy’s Partner Maurice Tempelsman’s Manhattan Penthouse is For Sale

2 min read

Jackie Kennedy was no stranger to a headline grabbing romance. Her marriage to the late John F. Kennedy, of course, helped make her one of the most iconic First Ladies of all time, while her nuptials to Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis caused a tabloid furor. However, her last great romance was perhaps her most low-key—a yearslong friendship-turned-partnership with Belgian-American diamond merchant Maurice Tempelsman.

Tempelsman, who was often noted in the press as Jackie’s “companion,” first met Jackie in the 1950s and went on to become a friend and confidant in the later decades of her life. Indeed, the couple even lived together from the mid-1980s until Jackie’s death in 1994, sharing in her 15-room Fifth Avenue apartment.

After her passing, Tempelsman eventually settled in a penthouse in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood, where he remained until his own death last year just beofre his 96th birthday. Now, that apartment is on the market, and it’s sure to garner interest from Kennedy aficionados and real estate lovers alike.

Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

A view to the exterior of the property

The pre-war apartment crowning 1155 Park Avenue is reportedly up for sale for $5.5 million (along with approximately $8,027 in monthly maintenance), listed by Allison Bandier Koffman and Juliette Janssens of Sotheby’s International Realty – East Side Manhattan Brokerage. According to the New York Times, Tempelsman originally bought the property in 1999 for $3.3 million.

“He was walking through the apartment with the broker trying to put on a game face, then he turned around with his hand cupped over his mouth and said, ‘I love it,’” Tempelsman’s son, Leon Tempelsman, told the publication. “It was love at first sight.”

The two-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath penthouse has roughly 1,872 square feet of interior space with an additonal 3,660 square foot terrace, and features views overlooking Central Park as well as, aptly, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.

Below, a few more photos of the property:

Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

Lauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and Town & Country contributor who covers beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine, and cocktails.