Adrian Portelli reveals real reason why he made sisters Maddy and Charlotte win The Block
Record-breaking bidder and billionaire Adrian Portelli has revealed the special reason why he wanted sisters Maddy and Charlotte to win The Block.
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Adrian Portelli has revealed the real reason he wanted sisters Maddy and Charlotte to win The Block 2024, after shattering auction records.
The billionaire paid $15.03 million to buy all five houses at auction on the reality renovation show.
He capped the season with a knockout bid of $3.5 million for House 1 on Phillip Island, renovated by sisters Maddy Harry, 24, and Charlotte Harry, 22, making them the season’s winners with a $1.55 million profit.
The youngest contestants in The Block’s history also took home the $100,000 winner’s cheque, bringing their total prize to $1.65 million.
Portelli said there are “two reasons” why he wanted the sisters to take out this year’s crown.
“Everything worked as planned and we came away with the royal flush,” Portelli said.
“I would say it was planned for at least a couple of months who was going to win. Everything was well strategised behind the scenes.
“Maddy and Charlotte are just really good people, they’re genuine, and they come from a good family, and they came into this show as underdogs and got bullied for it.
“The second is that they were my partner’s favourite. She’s a fanatic Block watcher, so I said to her give me your favourite to least favourite, and I’ll see what I can do.
“And fortunately, I’m in a position to pick the winners on a show like this.”
That now puts Maddy and Charlotte narrowly behind The Block’s 2023 winners Steph and Gian ($1.75m), and 2022 winners Omar and Oz ($1.68m), on the list of the show’s all-time biggest wins.
True to his auction day flair, Portelli waited until all five auctions were complete before making his grand reveal.
The flashy billionaire stunned the crowd when he revealed, post-auction, that he had bought every home on the show, directly or through his buyer’s agent.
Hiring a suburban buyer’s agent to bid on multiple houses throughout the day was a tactic designed to distract other buyers.
However, despite the history-making auction, Portelli admitted this will be his last year bidding on The Block, but wanted to make a memorable exit.
“We just wrap it up now. We don’t want to milk it too much and we don’t want it to become repetitive,” he said.
“We had our fun and made some memorable moments.”
This year’s season of The Block took place at a former holiday resort in Cowes on Phillip Island, southeast of Melbourne, where contestants transformed the villas into luxurious homes.
Portelli is now giving away the entire property he purchased as the next prize on offer through his promotions company, LMCT+.
The lucky winner will be announced on Boxing Day.
“We’re going to do something we’ve never done. I thought it’d be really cool just to give away a whole resort,” Portelli said.
“So one prize and the winner takes all.”
Portelli became a well-known figure on The Block during the 2022 Gisborne auctions, arriving as a mystery buyer in a yellow Lamborghini and quickly making his presence felt as a major player.
That year, he purchased one house for $4.25 million, and the following year, he bought three properties in Hampton East for a combined $12.4 million, including Steph and Gian’s winning home, which still holds the record as the most profitable win in The Block’s history.
WHO IS ADRIAN PORTELLI?
Portelli rocketed onto Richest 250 list this year with a fortune based around the valuation of his LMCT+ rewards club, property holdings and other investments.
A master of marketing and self-promotion, Portelli is best known for bidding at auction on properties sold on Nine Entertainment’s The Block TV renovation series.
But Portelli has a highly profitable business in LMCT+, which has more than 100,000 subscribers, and property holdings along the eastern seaboard, stakes in drinks startups, and a collection of luxury sports cars.
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