A Chinese billionaire has bought a mansion in Australia for a reported $70 million Australian dollars ($52 million)—making it the most expensive home ever sold in the country.
Chinese developer and billionaire Chau Chak Wing bought Australian businessman James Packer's megamansion in Sydney "without even seeing it," according to Domain.
The six-story home took three years to build and was intended as the family home for Packer and his wife Erica, The Real Deal reported. Yet after Packer filed for divorce, the home remained vacant for two years. (Packer has since been linked to pop singer Mariah Carey).
Packer reportedly spent AU$30 million to buy the land for the property and an estimated AU$40 million to build it, Domain reported.
The deal shows that despite the economic slowdown in China, some of the rich Chinese continue to spend on overseas real estate. Chau, the chairman of Kingold Group, is mainly based in China, but his daughter and wife live in Australia.
He told Domain that while his family already has a home in Syndey, he wanted "something a little bigger" to accommodate his growing clan.
Chau has strong political connections in China and Australia. According to Domain, he sat in on a meeting last year with former Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.