Murdoch spends big for French mansion

Actors Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman were among the 10 registered bidders at Australia's most exclusive auction this week, when Sydney's poshest residence went under the hammer.

But Hollywood lost out to Fleet St when Lachlan Murdoch, eldest son of Rupert Murdoch, snapped up the 4000sqm neo-Georgian property for A$23 million ($29m).

Le Manoir is the former French consulate in the city, and has six bedrooms, five bathrooms, two studies, servant quarters, a guest powder-room, a tennis court, swimming pool, three-car garage and commercial-size kitchen.

The price set a new record for Sydney house prices this year, and the other prospective buyers, including Kidman, who sold her house this year for A$12m, were not prepared to match it.

Neither Kidman nor Crowe were present, but Murdoch, 38, was at the private auction.

Crowe and his wife, Danielle Spencer, attended the appointment-only inspections, and the star of Gladiator, Master and Commander and Cinderella Man reportedly monitored the auction via the internet.

The French Government had insisted on a refundable pre-auction A$50,000 deposit as evidence of serious intent on the part of bidders, and reserved the right to vet them.

France had owned Le Manoir, in Bellevue Hill, since 1956.

Le Manoir, built in 1926, is shielded by 2.7m-high fences and a steel electric gate, with the house at the end of a long driveway.

Murdoch, once seen as the heir to his father's media empire, abruptly quit executive roles with News Corporation four years ago, although he kept his seat on the board.

He returned to Australia, set up a private investment company, and his family moved into a waterfront home in the beach suburb of Bronte.

Insiders say he and his wife had been inspecting "family-friendly" houses around the city for a year. They have two boys, Kalan, aged 4, and Aidan, 3.

Le Manoir, which has panoramic views from Sydney Harbour to the Pacific, was expected to fetch at least A$15m.

But bidding for the house, which occupies a sprawling 4000sqm block, opened at A$18m, and 10 minutes later, Murdoch made the winning bid.

The estate agent Michael Pallier said: "There weren't any signs of a global financial crisis at the auction last night, with 10 registered bidders going hammer and tongs. It was one of a handful of Sydney's eastern suburbs trophy homes, and they rarely become available."

Murdoch's friend James Packer, the gaming billionaire, had set the previous house price record for the year, when he and his wife, Erica, paid A$18m for an opulent property in Vaucluse, one of Sydney's most expensive waterfront suburbs.

Rupert Murdoch will be able to inspect his son's latest acquisition personally he is in Australia this week to meet executives, analysts and shareholders, as well as see his mother, Dame Elizabeth, who was 100 this year.

- THE INDEPENDENT