Teal independent Allegra Spender has become one of the richest members of the Australian parliament – and the richest female MP – emerging from the finalisation of her late fashion designer mother Carla Zampatti’s will with an unencumbered property portfolio that could be worth close to $40m.
Spender, who is the member for Wentworth in Sydney’s inner east, is now the sole owner of her famous mother’s mansion in Woollahra, which is said to be worth in the order of $25m.
Spender, 46, is now also sole owner of a substantial holding in Darling Point, which she previously held in conjunction with her mother, who passed away in April 2021 following a fall at a night out at the opera, aged 78.
Other residents of the harbourfront suburb include billionaire industrialist scion Ryan Stokes and his wife Claire.
Ownership of the historic Woollahra home, which is to the rear of Edgecliff Rd in the leafy, affluent suburb, was transferred to the politician on March 7, while full control of the Darling Point properties, which are held over two titles, occurred on March 9.
Both properties are within the boundaries of Spender’s federal electorate.
Media adviser Peter McEvoy, former veteran ABC journalist, did not respond when contacted for comment.
Spender and her husband Mark Capps, who is a strategy executive and shareholder at Canva, having previously worked at McKinsey, Google and Uber, call the Darling Point property home.
The couple also have a holiday home at Sydney’s Great Mackerel Beach on Pittwater. Spender’s register of members’ interests reveals that Spender and Capps have also recently paid off a mortgage on an investment property, which appears to be the seaside home.
Great Mackerel Beach is an ideal location for a politician’s getaway, with the suburb only accessible by water, either by private boat, the regular ferry service from Palm Beach wharf or a water taxi service.
While clearly no issue in her own backyard, the first-time MP has been vocal on the housing affordability crisis in Australia, which she has previously said had “become a flashpoint for intergenerational equity”.
Spender last year was advocating for a Citizens’ Assembly on Housing to facilitate a proper national debate.
The body, she proposed, would comprise a group of everyday people who would consider the problem and advise government.
One major problem that Spender’s multimillion-dollar property portfolio does present, however, is the prospect of a significant annual land tax bill from the NSW government.
The payment is levied on properties other than the residential home, with Spender’s holdings exceeding the threshold for ownership by millions of dollars.
We guess that’s what you call a champagne problem.
Missing in action
Victorian gaming regulator Fran Thorn has determined Crown Melbourne is in the clear, the wrongs of the casino operator are in the past and its new owners and management from global private equity giant Blackstone can herald a new dawn.
But one man who never faced the music when it came to the unravelling of the James Packer-controlled Crown Resorts was its former chair Robert Rankin.
The former investment banker turned Packer right-hand man successfully eluded Patricia Bergin’s Crown royal commission in Sydney, refusing to return from Britain where he had fled, despite the former NSW Supreme Court judge’s invitation to attend.
Bergin was scathing of Rankin’s part in the Crown scandal.
These days, Rankin is a ghost in Oz thanks to a key proxy, while his Sydney tax adviser Matthew Marcarian has emerged as a director of several Rankin corporate vehicles in Australia.
Rankin, as of last October, has no Australian directorships and no longer owns real estate here. The businessman remains in Britain, but does not turn up as a director of any entities there either.
Rankin is co-founder of an advisory shop and funds management outfit in London, Altero Capital, where he is described as chairman, co-founder and partner. His bio on the group’s website makes no mention of Rankin’s time with Packer or at Crown. He has a stake in the operation of between 25 and 50 per cent, which is held via his Pacific Point Partners, whose ultimate owner is registered in the Cayman Islands.
Rankin is not a director of Altero’s parent, Altero Capital UK Ltd, which appears to hold its financial services licences via another entity.
Rankin is believed to still own a luxury home in the Cotswolds, known as The Old Rectory and which is available as an expensive holiday rental.
His home in Palm Beach in Sydney is now owned by former wife Paula Bopf, transferred as part of their divorce for $10, with paperwork signed by Marcarian, who was contacted for comment.
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