Chelsea FC owner buys NIS 100m Tel Aviv hotel
Billionaire Roman Abramovich purchases his first property in Israel in the gentrified Neve Tzedek neighborhood
The owner of England's Chelsea Football Club, Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, as he leaves court in London, October 4, 2011. (AP/File)
Jewish billionaire Roman Abramovich, owner of the Chelsea Football Club, bought his first property in Israel for NIS 100 million ($25 million) earlier this week.
Abramovich will reportedly convert the 1,500 square meter Varsanno Hotel in Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek neighborhood into his Israeli home. The hotel is listed as a preserved building, but the adjacent parking lot is zoned for residential building, which enables him to expand the premises in the future.
Last year, Abramovich invested in four Israeli start ups and made headlines when he booked all 111 rooms in a Negev hotel to entertain his guests over the Passover holiday.
