As the second part of its investigation into the shadowy moguls who are buying up trophy NYC real estate, the NY Times has a feature on Low Taek Jho, known as Jho Low, a billionaire Malaysian investor who has close ties to the Malaysian prime minister's stepson.

Low bought a $23.98 million Manhattan apartment and a $17.5 million Beverly Hills mansion in 2010, then sold both properties to Riza Aziz, the stepson of Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak; the Times reports that Low has "played an important role in bringing Middle Eastern money into numerous deals involving the Malaysian government, and he helped set up, and has continued to advise, a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund that the prime minister oversees." That sovereign wealth fund even put some of its money into an Cayman Islands account for a while, which upset Malaysian officials.

Low also parties with Paris Hilton, Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz, and helped Aziz with his new production company, which has produced The Wolf of Wall Street and Friends with Kids. As for the Time Warner apartment:

[In 2010] Mr. Low also went shopping at the Time Warner Center condominiums overlooking Central Park. He toured a 76th-floor penthouse, once home to the celebrity couple Jay Z and Beyoncé, then in early 2011 used yet another shell company to buy it for $30.55 million, one of the highest prices ever in the building....

With the penthouses on the top five floors of the north tower came wraparound views — the Catskills far off to the northwest, the Statue of Liberty just beyond the southern tip of Manhattan, and Central Park right next door. Mr. Low went to view Penthouse 76B with a retinue of women and told people involved in the deal that he would pay $30.55 million — all cash, as in his other real estate purchases.

One member of the condominium board and another person with direct knowledge of the deal said they believed that Mr. Low was buying for a group of investors. One of them recalled Mr. Low saying that a main investor was the family of Prime Minister Najib.

In its statement to The Times, the prime minister’s office said Mr. Najib had no financial interest or any agreement related to any Time Warner condominiums.

One critic, anti-corruption activist Charmian Gooch, faulted the lack of information that condo boards and real estate brokerages require of buyers: “People should ask the questions, ‘Why is it that this individual is bringing in millions of dollars into America, and how was it acquired?’" Low claimed to the Times that "he had never purchased real estate in the United States for the prime minister’s family or 'engaged in any wrongful conduct regarding any financial matters for the prime minister and his family.'"

Low is also co-director of a charitable foundation, which has given him the opportunity to speak at a New York Times-sponsored health conference and present its efforts at the 2014 Mashable Social Good Summit.