Source : the age
It is the Perth housing record that has stood for 16 years, and now the property that set the bar for the most expensive home to be sold in the west is back on the market.
In 2009, iron ore heiress Angela Bennett – the daughter of pioneering Pilbara prospector Peter Wright – sold her Mosman Park estate for $57.5 million, a record that stands to this day.
While the mansion had an original asking price of $70 million, it was eventually snapped up by Mineral Resources founder Chris Ellison and his wife Tia.
In 2009, Mineral Resources had enjoyed an impressive 12-month period, with the company’s shares starting the year around $2.29 in January before skyrocketing to sit around the $7 mark by December.
Despite a slowdown in the lithium market, MinRes is currently trading above $57 per share.
Ellison bought the 7567-square-metre riverside property at the end of December 2009, at the time setting a national record for the price paid for a private residential property in Australia, smashing the record set in 2008 by a $45 million Sydney waterfront property.
Located on Saunders Street in the affluent western suburb of Mosman Park, the riverfront property features an indoor swimming pool pavilion, full-sized tennis court, cinema, boathouse and private access to a jetty.
There are three separate buildings on the property, including the three-storey main home, a gatehouse and a guest house.
The main house consists of five large bedrooms, including the gatehouse with its own bathroom and media room, while the guesthouse offers a sixth bedroom.
However, living in one of Perth’s most prestigious postcodes comes with a costly catch. Mosman Park council rates for the property amount to more than $20,000 per year.
Ellison was previously expected to step down from his role at MinRes after the company agreed to finding a replacement for the founder by mid-2026 following a series of scandals including alleged tax evasion and misuse of company resources.
However, MinRes chairman Malcolm Bundey told shareholders in November that Ellison would remain at the company beyond the previously agreed deadline, and the company would implement a three-stage succession plan.
In November 2024, Ellison told shareholders he made an “error of judgment” in failing to report his personal tax and expressed regret for the impact his decision had on the business and its staff.
Bennett has also been making moves in Perth’s property market.
In September, the reclusive billionaire listed her $15 million, four-bedroom West Perth penthouse for sale, with the listing boasting of the “rare opportunity to secure one of Perth’s most prestigious properties a true ‘Palace in the Sky’.”
