Lady Fairfax's former home on sale for $120m The former Manhattan home of Lady (Mary) Fairfax, widow of the late Sir Warwick Fairfax, is on the market for $US125 million ($119.6 million). The penthouse atop the Pierre hotel on New York's Fifth Avenue was bought by Lady Fairfax in 1988 for $US12 million. She sold it in 1999 for $US21.5 million and it had been marketed from 2004-08 with an asking price of $US70 million. Upstairs, downstairs: The interior of the Manhatten penthouse. This week, another widow, Barbara Zweig, the wife of the late financier, Martin Zweig, called time on her reign in the Pierre penthouse. Martin Zweig bought the 1115sq m triplex from Lady Fairfax in 1999. If Ms Zweig's asking price is achieved, it will eclipse New York's residential record by $US30 million (paid for a duplex penthouse under construction at One57 on 157 West 57th Street in December). Upon settlement in 1988, Lady Fairfax engaged a team of designers, including Frank Grill in Sydney, to revamp the interior and create a grand salon. Built for $US15 million in 1930 by a joint venture including Charles Pierre Casalasco, the son of a Corsican restaurateur, the 41-storey granite and cream-bricked tower is a landmark above Central Park. Since the father of French cuisine, Auguste Escoffier, prepared a gala dinner for the opening celebrations, the hotel has been the darling of Manhattan's social set. After the Depression, it was bought by John Paul Getty for $US2.5 million and in 1959, 75 apartments within the hotel were sold to private residents. Residents have included Elizabeth Taylor, Yves Saint Laurent and Mohamed al-Fayed. The penthouse, sometimes called the Chateau in the Sky after its crown of copper mansard roofing, covers three floors. With four terraces, 360-degree views and a black Belgian marble staircase, it remains one of New York's most exclusive residences.