Burger boss who once cleaned toilets drops $25 million on a penthouse

The former boss of a popular hamburger chain who once cleaned the toilets to gain experience has reportedly dropped mega millions on a penthouse.

The apartment crowns an address in one of the most elite real estate districts in the world – New York City’s Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side, facing Central Park.

The building was designed in 1935 and neighbours and the talk of property circles is they are preparing to welcome ex-Burger King CEO Daniel Schwartz, famous in the business world for his humility and working from the ground up, according to US media reports.

Schwartz’s name – and that of his wife Rachel – is on the publicly-available title document, according to the story published by Manhattan-based real estate news source The Real Deal.

The four-bedroom apartment with 12 rooms across more than 460 square metres is showing as “under contract” on the Street Easy listing – a marketplace portal for US-based properties.

The Real Deal reports the sale price as $US17.2 million ($AU25,909,000), although the listing is live at $US19.95 million ($AU30,050,000).

The 17-level building, crafted in the Beaux-Arts architecture style, has a handsome, stately façade, and has long been home to Wall Street movers and shakers.

Due to the size, the penthouse has a lift, plus a salon and a library overlooking the iconic wedge of verdant Central Park and The Met art gallery, a marble foyer and a walk-in coat closet.

The Real Deal contacted Rachel Schwartz for comment. She told The Real Deal its story was “inaccurate”.

Schwartz is a well-known and regarded American investor and businessman who, at the age of 32, became CEO of Burger King, making him one of the youngest restaurant CEO’s in history.

When he became chief financial officer of Burger Kings’ parent company, at 29, he cleaned the toilets, ran the drive through and cooked patties to understand the company’s inner workings, Forbes reported in a wide-reaching profile.

The Long Island-raised Schwartz was named on Forbes’ Top 40 under 40 list in 2017 for his role running the major chain. He stepped down from his position as the chief executive of the burger joints’ parent company in 2019.