The husband of the late James Hormel, the first openly gay U.S. ambassador and heir to the Hormel Foods fortune, has sold the couple’s Tribeca apartment for $12.3 million, according to city records.
Michael P.N.A. Hormel was the seller of the four-bedroom, 3,700-square-foot apartment, which was designed by Robert A.M. Stern and features views of downtown Manhattan and the Hudson River. The apartment was first listed for $13.5 million in 2023 but was taken on and off the market since then. The 82-story building has a spa, a swimming pool, an attended parking garage, a restaurant, a bar, and a fitness center, according to advertising materials.
The buyer’s identity was obscured by a shell company. The deed was recorded April 29 and became publicly available Tuesday.
Dolly Lenz, Jenny Lenz and Adam Vanderbrook, the Dolly Lenz Real Estate agents who most recently listed the property, did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
James Hormel was the grandson of the founder of Hormel Foods, the conglomerate behind the brands Spam and Skippy. But rather than go into the family business, Hormel became a philanthropist, donating $15 million to LGBTQ and AIDS-related causes, according to his obituary in The New York Times Magazine. A prominent Democratic donor, Hormel was tapped by then-President Bill Clinton to serve as U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg in 1997.
But conservatives pushed back against his appointment, citing his advocacy around issues like same-sex marriage. Clinton used a loophole to push Hormel through without congressional approval in 1999. Hormel spent much of his time in Luxembourg living alone, having pledged to live without his then-partner in an effort to win Republican support, according to the Times.
Hormel met Michael P. Nguyen Araque in 2006 when the latter was a college sophomore. The two married in 2014 in a ceremony officiated by California Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
James Hormel died in 2021 at the age of 88. He had acquired the apartment in 2019 through a trust, paying $11.3 million. The unit was transferred to Michael P.N.A. Hormel in 2022, according to city records.
