donald soffer yacht

Tom Brady’s billionaire friend Jeffrey Soffer has sold his outstanding 311-foot-long superyacht for around $244 million. Lurssen built Madsummer has a cinema, a 12-meter-long swimming pool, a helipad, and a seaplane hangar that converts into a dancefloor.

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A Multigenerational Family Business

Turnberry has a company history rooted in family, innovation, and community. Fifty years ago, Donald Soffer arrived in South Florida with an extraordinary vision. He purchased 785 acres of submerged, undeveloped swamp and marshland facing the Intracoastal Waterway in North Dade County and from a sketch on a cocktail napkin, he began building what is today the great City of Aventura – known for iconic destinations like the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort & Spa and Aventura Mall.

Over the years, the family-run business has built an impressive portfolio of projects extending beyond South Florida into markets including Nashville, Tennessee, Las Vegas, Nevada, Arlington, Virginia, and Paradise Island, Bahamas. Turnberry has developed more than $10 billion in commercial and residential property – including luxury resorts and hotels, high-end shopping and cultural destinations, and mixed-used properties and communities. The company has earned a reputation for excellence, creativity, and civic responsibility. Today, the company is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jackie Soffer.

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Turnberry announces the expansion of Turnberry Isle Miami, including re-branding the property into a JW Marriott.

Aventura Mall’s three level, 315,000-square-foot expansion wing opens in November, including the 93-foot-tall Aventura Slide Tower by Carsten Höller. The mall now totals +/- 2.8 million square feet.

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Infamous Mega Yacht Monkey Business to Appear in The Front Runner

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The film made its debut in September at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, the state where Hart was a senator. It opens nationwide on November 9.

Hart was the leading Democratic presidential candidate in 1977 until rumors of an affair with a woman named Donna Rice surfaced. That, along with rumors of his womanizing and a photo of the two alongside the yacht, sank his campaign. The photo showed Rice sitting on Hart’s lap while he wore a “Monkey Business Crew” t-shirt.

Media coverage of the alleged affair was widespread. William C. Broadhurst, a Louisiana lawyer, chartered Monkey Business in 1987. Broadhurst, Hart and two women, one of which was Rice, cruised from Miami to Bimini for a day trip. According to Rice, they stayed overnight because customs was closed. She and the other woman allegedly stayed on the yacht. Broadhurst and Hart reportedly stayed on Broadhurst’s boat, which was moored nearby.

Filming for The Front Runner, which stars Hugh Jackman, occurred in Savannah, GA, last autumn. It’s unclear which yacht plays the role of Monkey Business, which was originally launched by Broward Marine in 1978 and custom built for Donald Soffer, owner of the Turnberry Isle Resort near Miami.

The 25-meter mega yacht was made of aluminum and features cabins with rosewood paneling. Amenities included a hot tub and a full bar. Some of the other famous guests that sailed aboard Monkey Business included Elton John, Elizabeth Taylor, Jack Nicholson and Julio Iglesias.

In 1988, Cape Shoalwater, a U.S. Coastguard boat, seized the yacht after a safety inspect off Bimini found nine grams of marijuana aboard. In 1990, Soffer put Monkey Business up for sale, saying that the scandal had failed to make the mega yacht profitable. The vessel was priced at $1.5 million, but it failed to sell. In 2004, Monkey Business was still docked at the Turnberry Yacht Club.

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Who Is Donald Soffer And What Is His Legacy?

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Miami-based Donald Soffer embodies the entrepreneurial spirit and vision of his ancestors who escaped Europe in search of opportunity in America.

Here’s what you need to know about the 89-year-old billionaire businessman and his family.

Childhood: Born Sept. 20, 1932, to immigrants of Polish and Hungarian descent, Soffer grew up during the tail-end of the industrial revolution in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Soffer attended the Massachusetts-based Brandeis University on a football scholarship. Despite a rough start, he was one of the few players in his class that graduated in 1955.

Immediately after, Soffer forwent an opportunity to play professional football for the San Francisco 49ers and joined the U.S. Army.

Post-WWII: The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (G.I. Bill) was passed in 1944 and Soffer returned to a burgeoning suburban Pittsburgh area.

For low cost, World War II veterans were able to finance their new lives on the outskirts of cities. Soffer and his father thought these families were in need of sustainable suburban ecosystems to work, live, and play holistically.

In 1965, at the age of 28, Soffer began building suburban shopping malls with his father which allowed these new communities to better self-sustain.

South Florida: In 1969, Soffer, alongside some partners, bought 785-acres of swampland in South Florida for $6 million. Originally called Turnberry, the site was renamed to Aventura which is Spanish for adventure.

Despite some early hiccups with regard to procuring build permits, Soffer went on to create an upper-class city less than 20 miles north of Miami.

The swamps were drained and rezoned to construct high-rise developments, resorts like Turnberry Isle, malls, marinas, golf courses and beyond.

Today, Aventura is a national destination for both living and pleasure.

Legacy: Soffer formed Turnberry Associates in the late 1960s, paying homage to the land beneath Aventura which was initially referred to as Turnberry.

The business was led by Soffer children Jeffrey and Jackie who, in 2019, broke most of their joint interests up into separate ventures.

Jackie, who is the CEO and chairman of Turnberry Associates, continues to own and manage attractions like the Aventura Mall , one of the highest-grossing shopping centers in the United States, Town Center Aventura , the Residence Inn , and Courtyard by Marriott in Aventura , the Courtyard by Marriott in Orlando , and the Hampton Inn in Aventura .

Jeffrey, under the Fontainebleau Development LLC , among many properties, owns and manages JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa , developments in Sunny Isles, and the Fontainebleau Hotel club in Miami, home to LIV Miami , a premier, a high-energy nightclub opened by David Grutman .

The Soffer family, apart from its continued interest in commercial and residential real estate developments, engages in philanthropic activities.

Soffer, who is a recipient of the Brandeis Alumni Achievement Award and inductee to Brandeis’ Athletics Hall of Fame, has donated to his alma mater and sponsors students’ education.

He is also a co-founder, investor and board member at Longeveron Inc LGVN , a biotechnology company engaging in cellular therapies for aging and aging-associated diseases. Soffer's worth, according to some estimates, sits north of $2 billion.

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How the Battle for South Florida’s Diplomat Resort Played Out 

‘we came to the conclusion that this is exactly what we do: we’ve got to make every effort to buy this hotel.’, by julia echikson september 21, 2023 8:00 am.

It was like a championship title fight. 

In one corner, billionaire developer Jeffrey Soffer, probably South Florida’s most famous hotelier, aimed to become the owner of a major casino. In the other, the more straight-laced hospitality group Trinity Investments looked to add to its portfolio.  

Victory would bring ownership of the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, just north of Miami. Rising 36 stories on a prime site between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway, the 1,000-key property is South Florida’s second-largest resort.

The four-year saga ended earlier this year with an $835 million sale — the single largest hotel sale in the nation since the onset of COVID-19. A big hurdle along the way was Soffer’s desire to install a casino at the property, despite Florida’s restrictive gambling laws. But, once the sale closed, it highlighted the hospitality sector’s robust recovery from the depths of the pandemic, and showed that demand for premium South Florida properties was resisting skyrocketing interest rates.

The $835 million property came with an impressive history. When the Diplomat opened in 1958, the imposing L-shaped, MiMo-style structure became a fixture of South Florida nightlife. It attracted celebrities and politicians such as Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jr. and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. 

Three decades later, the Diplomat had fallen into ruin. Two fires in the early 1980s caused $30 million in losses and required $20 million in renovations. The storied property was demolished under new ownership in 1997, and a rebuilt resort opened a few years later. Two adjoining 36-story towers topped with quarter circles resembled a spaceship. They housed a giant hotel, a convention center and a retail complex. 

In 2014, Thayer Lodging Group bought the property for $460 million. Later that year, Brookfield Properties acquired Thayer, bringing the Diplomat under the fold of one of the world’s largest real estate investors. In 2017, two years after completing a $100 million renovation to the interior, Brookfield refinanced the property with a $560 million debt package and rebranded the property from a Westin to Hilton’s Curio. The investor put the resort on the market, seeking $1 billion — or $1 million a room. 

A suitor soon emerged: Jeffrey Soffer, considered Miami real estate royalty. His father, Donald Soffer, had turned a swath of swampland north of Miami into the bustling town of Aventura. By the turn of the century, the younger Soffer was running the family business, Turnberry Associates , alongside his sister Jackie. The Turnberry portfolio included some of South Florida’s most notable properties, such as the 2.8 million-square-foot Aventura Mall and the iconic Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach. 

Tensions soon appeared to tear the family business apart, and gambling may have had something to do with it. Jeffrey Soffer has long harbored ambitions of owning a large casino. In 2007, he began building a 67-story casino on the Las Vegas Strip, which stalled indefinitely during the Great Recession. In Florida, he has paid lobbyists and made campaign contributions to lawmakers in Tallahassee to loosen the state’s gambling laws in hopes of installing a casino inside the Fontainebleau. 

In 2018, the Soffers announced plans to build a hotel next door to the Miami Beach Convention Center, home to Art Basel and other top-flight events. The city commission approved Turnberry’s development plans — on two conditions. No casino could be housed in the planned hotel, and the owners could not own a gambling facility anywhere else in Miami-Dade County. “There’s no city in America that has casinos that we want to be,” said Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, fearing his glittering town would become a tawdry tourist destination.

Jackie Soffer campaigned for Miami Beach voters to approve the convention center hotel. Meanwhile, a lobbyist who had long worked for Jeffrey sent out flyers urging residents to vote No, though Jeffrey denied being behind the campaign. That same year he purchased the Mardi Gras Casino and Hollywood Greyhound Track, now known as the Big Easy Casino, in neighboring Broward County. Miami Beach officials publicly voiced their fears about Jeffrey attempting to transfer his casino license to the Fontainebleau resort.

After winning the Miami Beach hotel referendum in 2018, the Soffer siblings terminated their business relationship the following year. In the business divorce, Jackie continued to run Turnberry Associates, retaining control of the Aventura Mall, while Jeffrey founded a new firm called Fontainebleau Development and kept the namesake hotel. 

Once freed from the family business, Soffer set his eyes on the Diplomat. In early 2020, he offered $800 million, but COVID-19 intervened. As hotels abruptly closed, Soffer hemorrhaged cash. A $975 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan for the Fontainebleau resort went into special servicing. Soffer called off the Diplomat deal. 

Still, the mogul remained hopeful a deal could eventually be hashed out. “We love the asset and continue to have discussions with Brookfield given the Diplomat’s clear synergies within our wider hospitality portfolio,” Soffer’s deputy, Brett Mufson, told The Real Deal .

In the ensuing months, Soffer lobbied state lawmakers to rewrite Florida gambling laws. The billionaire wanted new legislation passed that would allow him to transfer his gambling permit from the Big Easy Casino to the Fontainebleau.

The mogul dined with top state leaders, including Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls and State Senate President Wilton Simpson, aboard his 311-foot, $272 million yacht, according to The Miami Herald . Football legend Tom Brady, a close friend and neighbor, even stopped by to greet the politicians the night the quarterback won the Super Bowl. Soffer matched the schmoozing with over $1 million in campaign contributions, including $300,000 going to Simpson’s re-election campaign. 

While the Florida legislature approved a gambling compact that removed some hurdles for Soffer to open a casino at Fontainebleau, legislators did not overhaul the state’s gambling laws as much as Soffer wanted. 

“So it’s not breaking news that Jeff Soffer would like to move his license to the Fontainebleau. Everybody knows that,” Simpson told CBS Miami in May just a few months after yachting with Soffer. “I do not believe that [gambling license transfers] will happen this year.”

After the setback, Soffer turned his attention back to the Diplomat, which represented another opportunity to own a large-scale casino in South Florida. Since the COVID lockdown, Soffer’s depleted coffers had filled. The Fontainebleau’s nearly $1 billion dollar loan had exited special servicing. Florida’s hotels were packed. 

In November 2021, Soffer offered to buy the Diplomat for about $850 million. This time, he partnered with a powerful ally, Koch Real Estate Investments, an affiliate of Koch Industries, one of the country’s largest private companies. 

Soffer was keen on adding a gambling component to the property, according to two sources with knowledge of the talks. The offer was contingent on getting approval to open a casino at the Diplomat, one source said. But Brookfield demurred, deeming the plan too risky and infeasible, given Florida’s restrictive gambling laws. The rejection left Soffer feeling vexed, the source added. (Representatives for Brookfield and Fontainebleau declined to comment.) 

Brookfield didn’t need to soothe Soffer because it had other interested suitors, but none was as motivated or offered as much as Trinity Investments, a hospitality investor based in Honolulu. The firm owned the Grande Lakes resort in Orlando, a property that’s even larger than the Diplomat, housing 1,582 rooms on nearly 500 acres. The previous year, it had purchased the EAST hotel in Miami’s bustling financial district for $174 million. 

In contrast to Soffer’s brash style, Sean Hehir, Trinity’s president and CEO, is soft spoken, careful not to ruffle. He grew up in Zimbabwe and came to the U.S. to attend college at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. He joined Trinity in 1998, about two years after its founding. 

The Diplomat represented “irreplaceable real estate,” able to attract both leisure and business travelers, boasting ocean and river views, Hehir told Commercial Observer. Vacant parcels next to the hotel could be turned into valuable waterfront residential units. And, importantly for Brookfield, Trinity was not interested in adding gambling.

Negotiations between Trinity and Brookfield hummed along until the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in March 2022. But Trinity’s appetite for the property never waned. During the summer standstill, Hehir kept talking to potential partners and investors in hopes of working out a viable business plan. 

“We came to the conclusion that this is exactly what we do: We’ve got to make every effort to buy this hotel,” Hehir said.

Instead of trying to land new financing, which would be expensive, Trinity proposed assuming Brookfield’s existing CMBS debt. Hilton would brand the property under its Signia portfolio for large, luxury resorts. By the end of the summer, Trinity had gone under contract, putting down a $20 million nonrefundable deposit. 

Trinity still needed to secure a limited partner. Early on in the negotiations, it had approached Credit Suisse Asset Management. The bank division was intrigued, but still needed convincing. Instead of taking 5 percent equity, as is typical for an operating partner, Trinity offered to take 30 percent in equity. With about $550 million of debt attached to the property, Trinity’s share amounted to $78 million. 

The check “spoke volumes for Credit Suisse,” Hehir said. The bank’s asset management officially came on board, allowing the $835 million sale to close in February 2023. Even as eight months have passed, no hospitality deal has eclipsed that of the Diplomat, either by total dollar amount or per room. 

Soffer, for his part, is realizing his dream of opening a large-scale casino — just not in South Florida.

The magnate returned to Las Vegas in 2021 and acquired the Fontainebleau casino resort project, which he relinquished control of midway through construction 12 years ago following bankruptcy proceedings in the wake of the Great Recession. 

The 67-story building, which has remained under development for nearly a decade, is set to finally open later this year.

Julia Echikson can be reached at [email protected] . 

Sunday Summary: Save Us, Super Brokers!

Architect jeffrey beers dies at 67, 55 acres in socal’s warehouse-rich inland empire trades for $78m, popular restaurant plans second palm beach county location, in boca.

By The Editors

By Abigail Nehring

Washington Heights Landlord Turns Himself In After Arrest Warrant

By nicholas rizzi.

Who Is Donald Soffer And What Is His Legacy?

Miami-based Donald Soffer embodies the entrepreneurial spirit and vision of his ancestors who escaped Europe in search of opportunity in America.

Here’s what you need to know about the 89-year-old billionaire businessman and his family.

Childhood: Born Sept. 20, 1932, to immigrants of Polish and Hungarian descent, Soffer grew up during the tail-end of the industrial revolution in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Soffer attended the Massachusetts-based Brandeis University on a football scholarship. Despite a rough start, he was one of the few players in his class that graduated in 1955.

Immediately after, Soffer forwent an opportunity to play professional football for the San Francisco 49ers and joined the U.S. Army.

Post-WWII: The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (G.I. Bill) was passed in 1944 and Soffer returned to a burgeoning suburban Pittsburgh area.

For low cost, World War II veterans were able to finance their new lives on the outskirts of cities. Soffer and his father thought these families were in need of sustainable suburban ecosystems to work, live, and play holistically.

In 1965, at the age of 28, Soffer began building suburban shopping malls with his father which allowed these new communities to better self-sustain.

South Florida: In 1969, Soffer, alongside some partners, bought 785-acres of swampland in South Florida for $6 million. Originally called Turnberry, the site was renamed to Aventura which is Spanish for adventure.

Despite some early hiccups with regard to procuring build permits, Soffer went on to create an upper-class city less than 20 miles north of Miami.

The swamps were drained and rezoned to construct high-rise developments, resorts like Turnberry Isle, malls, marinas, golf courses and beyond.

Today, Aventura into a national destination for both living and pleasure.

Legacy: Soffer formed Turnberry Associates in the late 1960s, paying homage to the land beneath Aventura which was initially referred to as Turnberry.

The business was led by Soffer children Jeffrey and Jackie who, in 2019, broke most of their joint interests up into separate ventures.

Jackie, who is the CEO and chairman of Turnberry Associates, continues to own and manage attractions like the Aventura Mall , one of the highest-grossing shopping centers in the United States, Town Center Aventura , the Residence Inn , and Courtyard by Marriott in Aventura , the Courtyard by Marriott in Orlando , and the Hampton Inn in Aventura .

Jeffrey, under the Fontainbleau Development LLC , among many properties, owns and manages JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa , developments in Sunny Isles, and the Fountainebleau Hotel club in Miami, home to LIV Miami , a premier, a high-energy nightclub opened by David Grutman .

The Soffer family, apart from its continued interest in commercial and residential real estate developments, engages in philanthropic activities.

Soffer, who is a recipient of the Brandeis Alumni Achievement Award and inductee to Brandeis’ Athletics Hall of Fame, has donated to his alma mater and sponsors students’ education.

According to some estimates, Soffer's worth sits north of $2 billion.

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By Susan Heller Anderson

• June 28, 1990

Monkey Business, the 83-foot yacht that sank the political career of GARY HART, is for sale at an asking price of $1.225 million. The yacht and its passengers made headlines in 1987 when Mr. Hart, a former Senator who was then seeking the Democratic nomination for President, was found to have taken a sail on it with DONNA RICE, a model.

As advertised in newspapers around the nation this week, the yacht has a built-in whirlpool bath and three rosewood-paneled staterooms, and it requires a crew of six. While ELIZABETH TAYLOR, JACK NICHOLSON and ELTON JOHN have been on board, the yacht's best-known journey was its charter trip from Florida to Bimini with Mr. Hart and Ms. Rice aboard.

Mr. Hart's fall from front-runner status is all history now, BOB OFFER, the Fort Lauderdale yacht broker who is selling the boat, told The Associated Press. He said the owner, DONALD SOFFER, a developer who had the Monkey Business built in 1979, had decided to sell it because he was nearly finished building a yacht that is 57 feet longer.

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The Next Birkin:  Priscila Alexandre Spring, a bag designer and creative director of leather goods at Hermès, has the fun and formidable challenge of creating a new icon .

clock This article was published more than  35 years ago

COAST GUARD SEIZES 'MONKEY BUSINESS'

MIAMI BEACH, MAY 14 -- The luxury yacht Monkey Business, which ferried former Colorado

senator Gary Hart to the Bahamas with model Donna Rice, was seized today

when U.S. Coast Guard officers found a small amount of marijuana on it,

officials said.

"They found one gram of marijuana, that's one-twenty-eighth of an

ounce. According to 'zero tolerance,' if we find enough to test

positive, it's enough to seize the vesssel," Petty Officer Dan Vogeley

The 82-foot yacht was boarded during a routine search about 22 miles

northwest of the Bahamian island of Bimini, he said. The four people on

board, whose names were not released, have not been arrested, Vogeley

When Hart, his friend William Broadhurst, Rice and her friend Lynn

Armandt took their trip in March 1987 to Bimini, about 55 miles east of

Miami, the chartered yacht was owned by millionaire developer Donald

Soffer and kept at Turnberry Isle Marina in North Miami Beach. Coast

Guard officials said the boat is registered to Turnberry Isle Marina.

Hart withdrew from the race for the 1988 Democratic presidential

nomination on May 8, 1987, only weeks after he had announced his

candidacy, when The Miami Herald revealed his liaison with Rice.

Marina Spotlights

Turnberry marina.

When you come to Turnberry Marina, be prepared to get dazzled. Every inch of this dreamy destination intends to deliver an unparalleled harbor experience. It all began back in 1967 when real estate developer Donald Soffer sketched on a cocktail napkin his vision of a premier retreat in South Florida. He bought 785 acres of swamp and marshland and turned it into the gorgeous town of Aventura, just north of Miami on the Intracoastal Waterway.

This state-of-the-art facility offers 60 slips with low-profile floating aluminum and Ipe wood Technomarine docks, which can accommodate vessels up to 90 feet. In addition to floating docks, Turnberry has 1,000 feet of high-profile fixed concrete face dock that can handle boats up to 165 feet. With a minimum controlling depth of 12 feet at low tide, it accommodates deep-draft sailing vessels, too.

The property offers 24-hour security and is accessible by road through a guarded gate. Each dock and all common areas are protected with high-definition camera coverage. Turnberry also provides in-slip pump-out access with its new Keco mobile cart that allows access to blackwater valves throughout the marina.

Adjacent to A-Dock is the Crew Lounge with complimentary coffee in the morning, heads and showers, a fitness center and a work station with computers.Its newly renovated sister property, Turnberry Isle Resort, is a superb full-service hotel less than a mile away with more than 600 beautifully decorated rooms. Guests enjoy two 18-hole championship golf courses (designed by renowned architect Robert Trent Jones Sr.), award-winning restaurants, a luxury spa and an astounding network of pools, lazy river and waterslides.

With enough sweet amenities to satisfy any wish, guests can't resist venturing into nearby Miami to explore its glitzy nightlife, exceptional food scene, cultural attractions and sultry tropical vibe. Discriminating shoppers flock to Aventura Mall (less than a mile away) for high-end fashions and cocktails. Events such as the Miami Boat Show, Art Basil Miami and the South Beach Food and Wine Festival are guaranteed to enhance a memorable visit to Turnberry Marina .

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Latest in O.J. gossip: A Miami connection

Los Angeles police were in Miami last week investigating whether O.J. Simpson planned to sail to freedom on a sleek 140-foot yacht named Miss Turnberry.

The investigation, sparked by a "rumor upon a rumor, upon a rumor," according to a state attorney, apparently was fruitless.

The boat was owned by Turnberry, Fla., developer Donald Soffer, who was served with a subpoena Wednesday. The police and an L.A. assistant district attorney were pursuing a lead that Simpson had planned to flee to the Bahamas on the Miss Turnberry after the murders of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend, the Miami Herald reported Saturday.

Soffer had hosted Simpson, Nicole and their two children on the Miss Turnberry for three or four days in February. Afterward, Soffer said he never discussed the yacht with Simpson or any of his representatives.

"They have reports that O.J. was planning on being on the boat right after the murders," Soffer said. "They were trying to intimate he was planning on getting out of the country when he had the famous car scene, when he had the money on him. That's not true.

Soffer, a friend of Simpson's who believes the former football star is innocent, called the police action "grasping at straws."

The Miami report comes as the O.J. Simpson case is getting back to courtroom business.

Although the trial doesn't officially start until Sept. 26, legal analysts said the hearing that opens Monday should top what looks to be several weeks of tedious, non-televised jury questioning.

And that will be followed by a grueling hearing to determine what evidence will be admissible.

Simpson, 47, has pleaded innocent in the June 12 slayings of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, 35, and her friend Ronald Goldman, 25. He remains jailed without bail.

On Monday, Simpson's attorneys will argue the charges should be dropped because much of the evidence used to bind Simpson over for trial was either illegally obtained by police or shed little light on whether he committed the murders.

In Miami, police also interviewed the boat's captain, Chris Kennedy, Soffer said.

The interviews took place with the help of the Dade state attorney's office, which issued the subpoena at the request of Los Angeles investigators.

"A rumor upon a rumor upon a rumor led to an allegation," said Michael R. Band, chief assistant state attorney. "As far as I'm aware, the allegation is not true. The bottom line is it was a wasted trip for the people involved."

In other developments, a defense attorney says it is too early to decide if Simpson will testify in his own defense at his murder trial.

"There has been no final decision made," Johnnie Cochran Jr. told the Associated Press late Friday.

Cochran denied telling the Washington Post that Simpson would take the stand.

The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday that detectives investigating the murders of Nicole Simpson and Goldman violated state law and police department policy by waiting hours to notify the coroner.

The delay in calling the coroner to the murder scene also has hampered efforts to pin down the time of death, the paper said.

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The first McDonald’s in Moscow that drove the city mad, 1990

On January 31, 1990, the first Soviet McDonald’s opened in Moscow. The first McDonald’s ever in Soviet Union.

Nowadays it’s hard to believe that thousands of people would be willing to stand out in the cold for hours just to try a McDonald’s hamburger. But when the first McDonald’s arrived in Moscow in 1990, the whole city went mad.

The Moscow McDonald’s initiative was a joint venture between McDonald’s of Canada and the Moscow city council. A plan first envisioned when George Cohon, founder, and CEO of McDonald’s Canada, met Soviet Union officials at the ’76 Summer Olympics in Montreal. And almost a quarter of a century later, on January 31st, 1990 it became a reality.

The Russian capital’s inaugural McDonald’s set the record for most customers on its first day of opening by serving over 30,000 hungry punters. Budapest’s main branch of McDonald’s previously held the record, with 9,100 clients.

Thousands of Muscovites flocked to the new burger joint, forming lines several kilometers long in the center of Moscow on Pushkinskaya Square. The crowds of people were so huge that scores of policemen were sent to control the commotion, much like security at rowdy football matches.

It was the largest McDonald’s in the world at the time of its construction.

At the time of its construction, it was the largest McDonald’s restaurant in the world. A venue with 900 seats with a staff of about 600 workers that were carefully selected from 35,000 applicants.

As a result, the first workers were the crème de la crème of Soviet youth: students from prestigious universities who could speak foreign languages with brilliant customer service skills were hired.

This new workforce was a sharp contrast to the typical Soviet service sector, known for being dismissive, unsmiling, and cold. Soviet people were so accustomed to rude, boorish service that when they were faced with the polite manners and beaming faces they were completely shocked. In fact, the customers felt so uneasy while being served by someone who was smiling that the McDonald’s chiefs asked their employees to smile less.

For the ordinary Soviet citizen during perestroika, McDonald’s offered a glimpse of what life (and eating out) was like over the Iron Curtain. People from Soviet Union heard so much about western culture without being able to get near it, so Soviet citizens really went mad when the golden arches rocked up in Moscow.

And a venue with 900 seats needed a lot of employees, too.

However, McDonald’s was not cheap in those days. In a country where the average salary was about 150 rubles per month, a Big “Mak” was selling for 3.75 rubles. One Big Mac cost the equivalent of a monthly bus/metro pass.

The summer came, but the lines just kept growing. People from other cities were flocking the McDonald’s restaurant just for a single hamburger. “We stood under the melting sun for around eight hours,” photographer Mitya Kushelevich recalled. “That wasn’t so much of a problem as we were used to standing in lines for days just to get our monthly ration of sugar and tea.”

“Once inside we were blown away by the number of young cashiers behind the huge counter, smiling, moving like bees, serving one meal after another.

Nothing like our fat old ladies in white gowns sitting in front of empty shelves, pyramids of dusty canned food as window dressing.” “I still remember how insanely huge the milkshake looked and I didn’t know how to hold a Big Mac with my tiny hands.”

In 1991 and 1992, long lines could still be seen and people had to wait for hours to enter. The crowds outside the Moscow restaurant did eventually die down a little from Jan. 31,1990, when more McDonald’s were opened in Russia.

The unveiling of the next McDonald’s restaurants were also considered big historic moments. The opening ceremony of the second restaurant in 1993 was even attended by President Boris Yeltsin.

In a country where unemployment did not exist, 35,000 people applied for a job in the fast food restaurant.

Around 600 were hired.

The venture had been in talks with the Soviet officials since 1976.

And you could say that the appearance of this notorious symbol of capitalism was a sign that times were changing.

Reportedly, the restaurant expected to serve around 1,000 during its first day, but more than 5,000 Russians lined up in Pushkinskaya Square before it even opened.

One Big Mac cost the equivalent of a monthly bus/metro pass.

The summer came but the lines just kept growing. People from other cities were flocking the restaurant just for a single hamburger.

“We stood under the melting sun for around eight hours,” one visitor said.

“That wasn’t so much of a problem as we were used to standing in lines for days just to get our monthly ration of sugar and tea”.

“Once inside we were blown away by the number of young cashiers behind the huge counter, smiling, moving like bees, serving one meal after another”.

“Nothing like our fat old ladies in white gowns sitting in front of empty shelves, pyramids of dusty canned food as window dressing”.

“I still remember how insanely huge the milkshake looked and I didn’t know how to hold a Big Mac with my tiny hands”.

The Moscow McDonald’s initiative was a joint venture between McDonald’s of Canada and Moscow city council.

A plan first envisioned when George Cohon, founder and CEO of McDonald’s Canada, met Soviet officials at the ’76 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

“I’m particularly proud of the people story behind the first opening, both from Canada and Russia, learning from each other and working as one team”.

“This is a story about co-operation between nations”.

“And it is also a story about the Soviet who saw a sign outside reading ‘Rubles Only’ – and who said to me, ‘This is my restaurant’”.

The opening drew many important people.

The opening ceremony of the second restaurant in 1993 was even attended by President Boris Yeltsin.

Waiving the capitalism “flag”.

Huge crowd lined up outside the first McDonald’s in Moscow.

And people couldn’t get enough.

In total, over 30,000 customers passed through the doors on the opening day of the restaurant.

Setting a record for the number of customers served by a single McDonald’s in a day.

An old lady enjoyed her burger.

The Soviet Union dissolved on December 26, 1991.

(Photo credit: Sputnik).

Updated on: November 20, 2021

Any factual error or typo?  Let us know.

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Questions over lifestyle of Putin's aide and his wife's $10m property empire

Exclusive: Revelations revive concerns over couple’s wealth and potential benefits of close relationship with Russian president

The wife of Vladimir Putin’s press spokesman, Dmitry Peskov , has accumulated a property empire worth well over $10m (£7.7m) and is designing a riverside palace on an exclusive Moscow estate, the Guardian can reveal.

The project is being overseen by a Russian tycoon who has previously done business with Donald Trump, documents show.

The disclosures are likely to raise fresh questions about Peskov’s wealth and how he and his wife, Tatiana Navka, seem able to afford a super-affluent lifestyle.

Russian opposition leaders have repeatedly criticised Peskov’s lifestyle since his celebrity wedding in 2015 to Navka, a champion ice dancer who won gold for Russia in the 2006 Winter Olympics. A Russian citizen, she lived and trained for more than a decade in the US.

Though wealthy in her own right, research led by the investigative unit Dossier Center , together with the Guardian, suggests the couple’s assets and spending are greater than has been reported.

In October 2014, Navka bought a state-of-the-art property in Rublyovka, the forested area west of Moscow that is home to Putin, Russia’s president, and many from the country’s ruling elite.

The house in the village of Tretya Okhota is built on some of the most expensive real estate in Russia. In December 2012, it was offered for sale at $15.6m .

But documents seen by the Guardian show Navka purchased the entire plot in October 2014 for 300m roubles ($7.1m) – an $8.5m discount. The price included two pieces of land costing $3.5m. Navka furnished the house in 2013-15, consulting her husband on everything from gym equipment to choice of eco-sauna. Items ordered from a Cyprus boutique cost more than €500,000.

The property’s seller is listed as Timur Khaldarov, a little-known figure who ran a charitable sporting and arts foundation , according to Russian media .

The foundation’s founder is Alisher Usmanov, one of Russia’s most powerful and politically influential oligarchs. Usmanov was until recently a major shareholder in Arsenal football club and in 2018 the UK’s eighth richest man.

Khaldarov said he was independently wealthy. He works for Metalloinvest , Usmanov’s mining company. He said he met Navka before her second marriage to Peskov, when his daughter wanted to try figure skating. He said he could not remember the name of the acquaintance who introduced them.

The house was “too small” for his family, and so he sold it to Navka in a falling market, he said. “There was no special discount. I was paid the market value. Why consider it a gift?” he added. Usmanov, his boss, was not aware of the deal and did not influence it, he told Moscow TV channel Rain .

Navka said she bought the property at the market rate, at a time when real estate prices “began to plummet”. She was unaware of the 2012 price. “I have been working for a long time. I earn money and pay taxes on it. Everything else is my personal matter,” she said in an email.

Neither she nor her husband had a “business relationship” with any of Russia’s “major entrepreneurs”, she added.

Usmanov confirmed he “worked closely” with Khaldarov but said he had no interest in the Tretya Okhota house or knowledge of transactions. There were “well-known fluctuations” in the Moscow property market at the time, he said.

According to Dossier , Peskov and Navka made plans for an even grander mansion on an exclusive plot in the Moscow region belonging to the tycoon and developer Aras Agalarov .

In March 2018, Agalarov personally approved the building proposal, on a site called Rechnaya #27 , documents show. The plot is situated inside a gated housing estate for Russia’s ultra-wealthy , on the bank of a river, and featuring a golf course and private beach.

Documents show in 2017 the couple hired a firm of American architects, Zampolin & Associates , based in Westwood, New Jersey, to draw up a new mini-palace known as the Yanavka Residence.

The firm’s founder, Bob Zampolin, flew to Moscow to discuss the designs with Navka. His proposal features 2,400 metres of living space, a separate entrance for staff, a pool, spa, hot tub, sauna, great room and library.

The project was active in mid-2018. Its current status is unclear. Last week, there was no sign of building work. Asked if the plan was going ahead, Navka replied: “This does not concern you.” She said her relationship with Zampolin was personal and “wasn’t connected with plans to acquire property anywhere”.

Navka’s latest photoshoot for a Russian magazine took place at the Agalarov Estate hotel.

The revelations are likely to provoke fresh questions over Peskov’s wealth and any potential benefits he and his wife have gained from his close relationship with Putin.

Dossier is funded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky , an exiled critic of Putin. Its revelations will fuel questions about Navka’s finances.

Since winning Olympic gold, Navka has enjoyed lucrative TV and advertising deals, including for a brand of yoghurt. She has had a primetime ice dancing show on Russia’s state-run pro-Kremlin Channel One.

She appears to have bought her Rubylovka property using a 300m-rouble private loan – the entire purchase price. Asked about the loan, Navka repeated: “This does not concern you.”

Before the sale in February 2014, Navka opened three Swiss bank accounts, documents show. The accounts were with the Zurich branch of the Banque Internationale à Luxembourg and in dollars, euros and roubles.

She also set up an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven. The company, Carina Global Assets, was named in the Panama Papers leak .

At that time Navka denied having any offshore companies or accounts: “I don’t know who could have done it. I would like myself to understand what happened.”

Navka also has a portfolio of other high-end properties. They include an elite flat in Moscow’s central Yakimanka district, worth $4m, and given to her by the state as a reward for her sporting success. It is being extensively revamped.

She also has a $2m flat in the Moscow suburb of Polyanka. In 2015, she acquired a property under a lease of 49 years from the Moscow city government.

The pavilion in a Soviet-era park known as VDNkH was to be developed into an ice rink and sporting arena. The project was never implemented, Navka said. She also owns a small flat in the Crimean resort of Yalta.

The couple both have children from previous relationships, and a daughter born in August 2014. They have had family holidays in the Maldives, Dubai, and the French ski resort of Courchevel.

Their spending has come under persistent questioning from Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader. In 2015, he accused Peskov of “illegal enrichment” after he and Navka reportedly honeymooned on the world’s most expensive yacht.

Peskov was spotted at his wedding ceremony in Sochi wearing a $625,000 watch . Peskov said the watch was a present from his bride. He also received an inheritance, he said.

Navalny has urged the Kremlin to examine the apparent discrepancy between Peskov’s official income and his ostentatious spending, so far without success. One theory is that Navka has on occasions benefited from her husband’s links to Russian oligarchs who are supportive of Putin.

Navalny has previously alleged that Usmanov used a charitable foundation to gift Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s prime minister, an $85m mega-villa in greater Moscow. Usmanov vehemently denies this . A Moscow court found in Usmanov’s favour.

Khaldarov said Navka had rented his former home for a year and a half before she bought it, paying all appropriate taxes. Khaldarov was a deputy director of Usmanov’s Art, Science and Sport charity foundation .

Peskov has been a confidant of Putin for 20 years and is regarded as one of the most powerful people in Russia. He was involved in discussions over a property deal in Moscow, held with Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, who has admitted he lied about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Cohen told Congress the plan fizzled out in January 2016. He now says discussions went on for another six months and included a possible trip by Trump to Moscow.

Cohen emailed Peskov asking for help – and held a 20-minute phone call with one of his assistants. Peskov later invited Cohen to the St Petersburg economic forum , and offered to facilitate high-level meetings with Putin and Medvedev.

Peskov and Agalarov appear in the dossier compiled by the former MI6 officer Christopher Steele. It alleges the Kremlin holds compromising material on Trump, some of it allegedly collected during Trump’s 2013 visit to Moscow for the Miss Universe contest , which Agalarov hosted. Agalarov paid Trump about $14m in fees for putting on the show. Trump owned the rights.

The dossier says Peskov was in charge of kompromat on Trump and Hillary Clinton, as part of Moscow’s wider effort to influence the 2016 US presidential election in Trump’s favour. The special counsel Robert Mueller is examining alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

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• Vladimir Putin

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