A trust linked to Iranian-Canadian billionaire Michael Latifi bought an Estates at Acqualina penthouse for $26 million.
Records show the Mialla Trust bought unit PH-02 in the south tower at 17901 Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach from an affiliate of the developer, Jules and Eddie Trump’s Trump Group. The Trumps are not related to Donald Trump.
The Mialla Trust listed its mailing address as the Markham, Ontario headquarters of Latifi’s meat processing giant, Sofina Foods, and was managed by Sofina Foods employee Toula Girmenia.
Latifi founded Sofina Foods in 1995 and has expanded it with acquisitions of brands like Italian meat producer Mastro, coffee company Lavazza and poultry giant Lilydale. Forbes estimates Sofina generates $4.8 billion in annual revenue, and pegs Latifi’s personal net worth at $3.4 billion.
His son is former Formula 1 driver Nicholas Latifi, and in 2018 the senior Latifi got in on the racing action as well with the $270 million acquisition of a 10 percent stake in McLaren’s F1 team, according to published reports. F1’s Miami Grand Prix debuted at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in 2022, and McLaren driver Lando Norris came in first in the race this past May.
Property records don’t reveal specifics of the floorplan for the Latifi-linked Estates at Acqualina penthouse. It spans 8,700 square feet in the complex’s south tower, records show.
The Trump Group started construction of the $1.8 billion two-tower project in 2018, and closings started in 2022. Estates at Acqualina includes the 49-story, 154-unit south tower; 52-story, 94-unit north tower; and a 45,000-square-foot amenities space with a movie theater, ice skating rink and bowling alley. The complex also has the Greek restaurant Avra Miami Estiatorio and lobbies designed by the late Karl Lagerfeld.
Years of construction delays at the towers resulted in litigation between the Trump Group and general contractor Suffolk Construction, resulting in the developer firing Suffolk from the project last summer.High profile buyers have flocked to the towers since closings began. LeBron James bought a condo for $9 million in 2022. Earlier this month, Mexican REIT moguls Moises and Andre El-Mann Arazi bought a unit for $20 million. Personal injury lawyers Gregory Ward and Jany Martinez Ward bought a condo for $16.6 million in August.