Jeff Bezos buying prime Manhattan properties for $80mn

New York: The richest man in the world, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is finalising a deal to buy three apartments in New York's prime Manhattan area for nearly $80 million.

The recently-divorced 55-year-old multi-billionaire is purchasing the top floors of a NoMad apartment building, the New York Post reported on Tuesday.

Bezos is in line to purchase the three-floor penthouse of Madison Square Park -- adjacent 212 Fifth Avenue, as well as two units on the floor directly beneath it and merge the four stories into one mega-home.

The residents of the building are excited to have Bezos as their neighbour, knowing this would escalate the price of their properties.

Bezos had been reviewing the properties since May, but the building's developer kept the proceedings discreet.

The decision comes as Amazon is reportedly seeking to scoop up at least 100,000 square feet in Manhattan office space, despite walking away from a $3 billion deal to build a waterfront headquarters in Queens area earlier in February.

According to Forbes, Bezos is currently worth $142.1 billion.