The Shell Companies Buying Up Manhattan

Foreign cash is responsible for a large portion of Manhattan high end real-estate purchases, but the use of shell companies has made it difficult to determine just who those new owners are. New York Times reporters Stephanie Saul and Louise Story uncovered the story of multi-million dollar condos being used by foreigners to hide assets. Many of the luxury condo owners identified by the Times in their yearlong investigation pay no city income taxes and often receive hefty property tax breaks.