He sold homes worth $250 million and wants to bring pandas from China (photos + video)

It seems strange, to say the least, for a businessman to sell it Luxury apartments worth $250,000,000 In his new real estate project and at the same time he is trying to bring… Panda far away China in New York For the joy of young children, without any financial benefit to them.

except if John Catsimatidis He is not what we call an ordinary businessman, which he has shown several times in his journey so far.

He demonstrated this again when last June he expressed his desire to buy the famous CNN network from its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery To run it itself for a fee of $1 per year!

The deal was not a success but the hype was great for his move and in the last few days, he has been in the news again for a completely different reason.

a reason? The businessman's desire to bring At least three pandas from distant China At the New York Zoo.

The cute black-and-white bears, which are still an endangered species, are among the zoos' top attractions.

When the Chinese government decides to lend to them, it does so for a specific period of time, ranging from five to twenty years.

This is something that does not happen often, but this fact does not discourage the immigrant from Nisyros, who believes that if this step succeeds, tourism in the Big Apple, which is witnessing a significant decline after the epidemic, will increase significantly.

Permanent grocer and Chinese

John Catsimatidis isn't bothered when articles about him sometimes include the word “grocer,” probably because it's his empire 4,000,000,000 dollars Which he started in a small grocery store, where he worked as a clerk since he was an apprentice and then a student.
By the age of twenty-five, he had already opened ten successful Red Apple supermarkets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and then came investments in real estate, the oil market, media and real estate.

He's a steady guy, still fully active at 75 and looking for new challenges, whether they're as entrepreneurial as the skyscraper he's building in Florida or nothing like bringing three pandas to America.

Speaking to the New York Post, Catsimidis said he is speaking with Chinese government officials to convince them to “loan” the black and white bears to the New York Zoo for a reasonable period of time.

“Young children don't get to see something like this in the city. Their arrival will be a symbol of peace and civilization,” the expatriate billionaire said, among other things.

On Friday, December 1, he held a press conference about the whole project, stressing that the idea of ​​bringing the cute animals from China to America had been floating around for years.

It is not that easy because the Chinese government They do not easily “loan” pandas to other countriesAs it is still an endangered species, even if its number has increased in recent years.

Moving them from Sichuan Province, where they live protected in a shelter, is no easy task, but Catsimatidis insists he will do anything to get them to New York.

“I'll go and get them myself,” he told the New York Post, while also covering the full cost of transporting them from distant China to America.

His contacts have so far been limited to the Chinese ambassador, but those who know him expect it will not be long before he is speaking with senior Chinese officials to convince them to “lend” the panda.

He even tries to form a committee for this purpose while claiming that the arrival of animals could attract more to New York 10,000,000 tourists.

Something the city has needed since traffic in certain areas of Manhattan like Lower Manhattan has seen a 33% drop from pre-pandemic levels.

The panda that left

John Catsimatidis' move comes just days after three pandas left the Washington Zoo for China, where they returned permanently with no prospect of new loans.

Tian Tian, ​​26, Mei Xiang, 25, and their three-year-old calf Xiao Zhijie bid farewell to their American friends after ten years at the Smithsonian Zoo in Washington.

Their presence there was part of the so-called “panda diplomacy,” which began in the 1970s after President Nixon's historic visit to China.

Since then, for half a century, the Chinese have been “loaning” the cute bears that feed exclusively on bamboo to the Washington Zoo.

Visitors enjoyed seeing the pandas, especially the children, and on their last day hundreds of people came to greet them, while CBS reported “end of the season” As described.

The three pandas boarded a special FedEx flight to China, while officials in the country have confirmed that it is impossible for them to ever return to America.

People from Catsimatidis' environment confirm that the expatriate businessman will not only maintain contact with the Chinese ambassador.

He will try to talk to others, while making sure that he also mobilizes his political contacts to achieve his goal.

In other words, bring at least three pandas to New York to be housed in its zoo.

He is known to be a character who does not easily accept “no” for an answer nor that “this can't be done”, having proven that anything is possible when one perseveres and works hard.

He is able to feed the animals himself – say some of his friends – if this becomes a condition for the Chinese, who are particularly sensitive to pandas, to say yes.

Catsimatidis himself is a schoolteacher, because at the age of 75 he is still thriving, he works more than ten hours a day and many times, especially this year, he flies to sunny Florida.

There he supervises his new project himself. «Residences 400 Central» in Saint Petersburg Because after all there is St. Petersburg in Florida and Katsimatis decided to build an entire building!

This former grocer from Nisyros who became a billionaire through extremely hard work is creating a project that will cost $400,000,000 When completed, the complex will include a 46-story tower or skyscraper.

It will include corporate offices and 301 luxury apartments, the sale of which has already begun, and as a result it became known a few days ago that the value of sales reached $250 million, an amount related to housing only.

Add to that the boutiques, restaurants, wellness centers, and rooftop terrace overlooking Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico that lucky homeowners will enjoy.

The latest information confirms this More than 200 apartments This particular project sold out and some remember the last Friday in May.

When six hundred and fifty concrete mixers poured 907,184 kg of cement onto 2,267,962 kg of reinforced steel at the foundation of this ambitious commercial project.

Work is progressing at full speed on the new residential and commercial project of Catsimatidis, who considers himself a “sound billionaire.”

After all, that was also the title of his best-selling autobiography, released a few months ago, in which he describes the expatriate's rise to the top in detail.

One's partners are called “A billionaire with common sense”Except perhaps for the times he spends his time talking about pandas arriving in the United States, which will add an additional advantage to his personal standing, as his business profile is enviable.

The New York-based businessman lives and breathes his new adventure in building and purchasing real estate at 400 Central Ave.

He can't wait to see the office tower and the rest of the luxury building rise to 46 stories, earning the title of tallest building on Florida's Gulf Coast.

Catsimatidis Development Company, red apple bunch, He's already got a penthouse under contract for $5 million, and has summarily claimed one for himself.

This will be his personal sanctuary, he tells his friends and acquaintances, and if he can finally convince the Chinese, he will be able to get on a plane himself and fly to the other side of the world to bring the cute black and white bears to New York. .

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