Businessman Alberto González Amador has put up for sale the two homes he has shared with President Isabel Díaz Ayuso over the past three years in the affluent Chamberí district. One day after it became known that he had put the sixth-floor apartment up for sale, EL PAÍS has confirmed from two sources that he also wants to get rid of the penthouse right above it. These moves by Amador have come to light in the same week this newspaper revealed that the Madrid government bought a luxury penthouse in the same area of the capital, but sources close to Ayuso have denied any connection between the two transactions.
Read more 2Cat breaks records with the best July in 20 years thanks to the Football World Cup
Ayuso flatly denied that she intended to turn the penthouse bought by her government into the official residence of the Community presidents. She did so on Wednesday, hours after this newspaper revealed the purchase, which took place in April and about which the Madrid government had kept secret. The Community maintained that the president was going to use it as a temporary office while renovations were carried out at the regional government headquarters, but admitted her mistake 24 hours later, on Thursday, when it became clear that it was impossible, by regulation, to convert the apartment into an office. Ayuso’s team announced that it will put it up for sale to recover the invested money, which market experts estimate to be around six million euros.
Chamberí is one of the most coveted areas of the capital and prices have risen 58% in just three years, since Amador made his investment. His penthouse listing on a real estate website shows a sale price of 1.6 million euros. Added to this is the price he asks for the sixth floor, 1.7 million. In total, it amounts to 3.3 million.
The penthouse has symbolized the left-wing opposition’s war against Ayuso in the last two years. Its existence came to light when elDiario.es reported in March 2024 that Amador and Ayuso had been living for a few months before on the sixth floor of that Chamberí building and also enjoyed this property on the seventh, the upper floor. The controversy was due to the move to these two properties, which total 360 square meters, taking place after the businessman, a quality certificates consultant, allegedly committed tax fraud for which he must be tried on a date yet to be set.
The left suspected that the use of the penthouse was free and that it hid some shady agreement because it had been bought by the company of Amador’s tax advisor. Later that economist denied any irregularities and said that the president and her partner paid a rent of 5,000 euros with an option to buy. At the end of last year, Amador acquired that property.
It was also believed that Amador had joined the two properties, something that was disproved when a city planning inspector from the Madrid City Council visited the sixth-floor apartment to check if unauthorized work had been done.
The sixth floor apartment was valued at 837,000 euros in 2022 when Amador bought it. He now asks for 1.7 million. The penthouse was bought by the tax advisor’s company in 2023 with a contribution of 955,000 euros. It is unknown how much Ayuso’s partner paid last year when he exercised the purchase option. He now asks for 1.6 million.
The penthouse listing shows an unfurnished property, with somewhat old floors and fittings. The terrace with views of the tree-lined square where it is located can also be seen. The photos of the other listing, the sixth-floor apartment, show the space where the couple has lived, including intimate details of the president such as her clothes, photos, or a towel embroidered with the name “Isabel.”
Do you have something to tell? Write to the authors at fpeinado@elpais.es and jdquesada@elpais.es
