$130m: ‘Buyer’ of Sydney’s richest house revealed

The ‘buyer’ of Australia’s most expensive house, sold for an eye-watering $130m – more than 100x our average home price – has been revealed.

Elaine sold for $130m last October but until now, the buyer had been a mystery. Picture: Supplied

The ‘buyer’of Elaine, which equalled the national house price record when sold last October for $130m, can be revealed for the first time.

It’s a consortium that includes the CEO at Acce Investments Group, Wei “Patrick” Shi, who built a development in Sydney’s Bondi Junction and lives there in one of the apartments.

The sources say that Shi was “shopping at $100m, but some other investors chipped in” to help purchase the north-facing 6,986 sqm waterfront property owned by the billionaire Atlassian co-founder, Scott Farquhar and his wife, investment banker Kim Jackson.

“Shi is the buyer,” they insist. “He’s the one with the keys.”

However, other sources say that Shi is merely the “dealmaker”, acting for other interests, who are planning to “chop it up and on-sell it”. “He’s a big dealmaker, his name won’t be showing up on any sales contract,” they say.

Shi has been contacted for comment.

The agents who sold Elaine, Brad Pillinger of Pillinger, and Ken Jacobs of Forbes Global Properties, had no comment when contacted.

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Scott Farquhar and Kim Jackson sold Elaine for $130m — the same price they paid for their next Point Piper home, UIG Lodge, in 2022. Picture: Jane Dempster/The Australian.

The big question is what they’d do with the old mansion, as there are restrictions on what can be done to it.

“Whether or not they keep the old heritage-listed mansion or not remains to be seen, but the two blocks on New South Head Rd would have to be worth $40m each alone,” the source said.

According to Shi’s LinkedIn profile, he has been self-employed as the CEO of Acce Investments since December 2002.

“Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the real estate industry,” the profile reads.

“Skilled in Negotiation, Real Estate Development, Marketing Strategy, Real Estate Transactions, and Investment Properties. Strong business development professional with a Master’s degree focused in International Business from University of Wollongong.”

$200m WINDFALL

It’s been speculated that if the site was carved up into four blocks the total windfall could be more than $200m.

It was the previous owner, JB Fairfax of the famous publishing family, who organised the potential subdivision prior to selling it Farquhar for $71m, a record at the time, in 2017.

It’s understood that Fairfax had sold it at “a discount” to Farquahar in order to keep it as a family home rather than it be sold to developers.

As it stands, beyond the old home there’s an ivy-lined path leading down past huge Norfolk Island pines to a gate to Seven Shillings Beach.

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Only a couple of rooms were styled for the home’s sale to Farquhar in 2017, including this one. Picture: realestate.com.au

Farquhar and Jackson bought UIG Lodge in Point Piper, already beautifully renovated, for $130m in 2022, again setting the national house price record.

The house next door to Elaine, Fairwater, had sold for a then record of $100m in 2018 to Farquahar’s former colleague, Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes and his then wife, Annie.

That’s on an 8000 sqm block.

Last week, the Wentworth Courier revealed that a waterfront home nearby is set to hit the market soon with $80m price hopes.

That 1524 sqm property is in the name of Lionel Warat, who, according to his obituary, died at the age of 80 last August after a long illness.

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Originally published as $130m: ‘Buyer’ of Sydney’s richest house revealed