The deal is one of several large real estate investments that Mayweather has touted.
A chance encounter more than a decade ago appears to have helped Mayweather make some high-placed connections in commercial real estate.
At a Knicks game, Mayweather happened to sit next to Jeff Sutton, a major owner of Manhattan retail space, and Andrew Mathias, who was then a senior executive at the large commercial landlord SL Green. The men hit it off and developed a friendship, according to two people who were present at that introduction. Both wound up counseling Mayweather on real estate investments.
In a
podcast interview in 2022, Mayweather said that, during his boxing career, with the help of his former manager Al Haymon and "my Jewish friends and my white friends," he initially invested $5 million in commercial real estate and began to net $50,000 a month in proceeds — an impressive 12% return on his money.
He suggested during that interview that he held a stake in One Vanderbilt, a 1,400-foot-tall Manhattan office tower controlled by SL Green.
"I'm a part of that project," Mayweather said, adding incorrectly that the skyscraper is "the tallest building in New York City."
The man who spoke to Business Insider claiming to be James McNair said that Mayweather had invested $88 million into roughly 20 loans that SL Green had originated and that were tied to commercial properties in the city. He said the company lent the money out as mezzanine debt, a type of higher interest rate loan sometimes used in real estate investments.
"It was a nice opportunity for them to make money for Floyd, who they have a great deal of respect for," the person said. "And at the same time, it was also a good marketing opportunity for SL Green to be associated with him."
Alexendra Zarchy, a spokeswoman for SL Green, said in an email: "We don't comment on questions regarding individual investors."
SL Green hasn't disclosed investments with Mayweather in public filings. The company, which is public, typically announces
large deals involving the sale of ownership stakes in its assets.
During an investor call in December 2014, Marc Holliday, SL Green's CEO, introduced Mayweather as "somebody who's been a big fan of the company, probably own some shares," according to a transcript of the call by AlphaSense.
"You're the right team, SL Green," Mayweather responded.