Being greeted with the picturesque Sydney Harbor is one of the wildest dreams many have but for Shangjin Lin, a Macquarie University graduate, it is no longer a dream but a reality.
The 27-year-old became the new owner of the 1920s Sicilian-style Villa Igiea that boasts gun-barrel views of Sydney Harbour. At $70,000 a week, it was known as one of the city's most exclusive short-term rentals, until Lin bought it for $52.5 million, News.com.au reports. The transaction is the second most expensive this year, after a $70 million of nearby La Mer.
For those who are curious as to how such a young man could dispose of such fortune, Mr. Lin, known as Jin, belongs to one of the most powerful families in the world. He's hailed from Shanghai and his family run their Shenglong global property development empire from offices Sydney and throughout Asia, Europe, the United Kingdom and North America, News.com.au says.
Yi Lin, the patriarch, was named as China's 92nd richest person on the 2015 Hurun Rich List, with a net worth of $4.6 billion ($US3.3 billion) last year.
The 2200sqm hillside abode has never been offered nor sold on the open market, and discussions and transcations only weent through exclusive agents like Christie's International and Pillinger Properties.
The previous owner was the late TNT transport tycoon Sir Peter Abeles and Lady Kitty Abeles, and was recently, Netscape founder Jim Clark and his wife Kristy occupied the place, the report adds.
The house, built in 2001, it has four bedrooms and an open-plan interior with fire places, timber and granite finishings that give it a "cosy ski chalet" feel with an Alpine lodge design.
There is also a detached office building, "half-size tennis court, chicken coop, pool and spa room are also part of the estate, which sits 830 metres above sea level and overlooks a 75,000-hectare National Park," News.com describes.
Not surprisingly, young Mr Lin also owns other properties and one of them is Gleneagle, a 40-hectare farm at Mittagong in the Southern Highlands, acquired way back in 2011 for $7.15 million. The property, as described by Richardson & Wrench Bowral is "extremely private and extensive natural views that will never be interrupted by development."
