Kevin Rudd’s $25m-plus fallback plan after US ambassador job
Former PM Kevin Rudd’s job as ambassador to the US may be under the spotlight with Donald Trump after his sledge of the now President-elect, but he has a $25m-plus fallback plan.
Former PM Kevin Rudd’s job as ambassador to the US may be under the spotlight with Donald Trump incoming as president, but he has a $25m-plus fallback plan.
Mr Rudd and his wife richlist Therese Rein – who reportedly made over $150m in cash and shares off the sale of her Ingeus jobseeker business a decade ago – have had extensive real estate holdings over the years, seeing them amass millions off investments made in their own names and via a group of family companies.
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The Rudds have one of Noosa’s most photographed homes waiting in the wings, bought for $17m in 2020, with an array of star power in its history having been built by Aussie tennis legend Pat Rafter.
Mr Rafter had sold it to the head of the Noosa-based Betty’s Burgers chain David Hales for $15.2m in 2018, with the businessman then going on to sell it to the Rudds at a $3m discount on his $20m asking price.
Real estate agent Tom Offermann was enamoured with the home during the campaign, saying “living in one of the best residences in the front row of a privileged location with nothing but the sand and sea in front, really is the ultimate prize”.
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The Rudds also have a sprawling five-bedroom, seven-bathroom sky home in Admiralty Quays in the heart of the Brisbane CBD to fall back on, bought for $8m in 2016 off Star Hotel Group owner Steven Shoobridge, according to property records.
The apartment building is filled with the who’s who of the Queensland business world including jobs queen and prolific property buyer Sarina Russo.
The Rudds spent their years after the Lodge buying and selling multiple properties in Noosa, especially during the pandemic, using family companies – one of which son Marcus is a director of now.
Mr Rudd’s company has just listed a newly built four-bedroom house in Peregian Beach for sale via an expressions of interest campaign. The Rudds had bought the original duplex property for $3m in October 2021 before redeveloping it.
The four bed, three bath, double garage and pool combination could fetch a solid profit, given a 1970s home sold for $3.75m in August on the street.
The family themselves have seen a massive $3m profit off the same street, after a stunning $9.75m off-market offer from Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart for a home Ms Rein bought for $6.75m in September 2021.
The Rudds had only held the property for six months before offloading it to Ms Rinehart who has another $11.2m beach house three doors down.
The family also went into land development during the pandemic, scoring $13.37m worth of sales in a cul-de-sac on Sunshine Beach.
Their family companies sold two neighbouring blocks of land priced at $2,999,999 each. A third larger 1,161sq m block beside those sold for $3.5m – which the buyer was then able to resell a year later for $5.7m. The Rudds sold a new built house on a fourth block of land there for $3,875,000 in August 2021.
Mr Rudd has been Australian ambassador to the US since 2023.
Originally published as Kevin Rudd’s $25m-plus fallback plan after US ambassador job