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By Sarah Webb
October 13, 2025 — 11.56am
A Melbourne family has splashed $11 million on the two-level Main Beach penthouse of Australia’s second-richest man – outmuscling two local bidders and paying well above reserve in a fast and furious auction on Saturday.
Perched atop the iconic Silverton building at 51/3510 Main Beach Parade, the 918-square-metre apartment is among the largest on the Gold Coast.
The penthouse boasts one of Queensland’s largest private rooftop pools, three en suite bedrooms, wraparound balconies and a private lift.
It has long been the Gold Coast base of Harry “High-Rise” Triguboff – who paid just $2.6 million for it 35 years ago.
Triguboff – who has a personal wealth of $29.65 billion, according to The Australian Financial Review Rich List – lives in Sydney’s Vaucluse and is famed for founding Meriton. Following the passing of his wife, Rhonda, last September, he decided to part with the holiday home he hadn’t visited since her death.
Co-selling agent Robbie Graham, of Ray White Main Beach, said the colossal home attracted strong local, interstate and even international interest, with five bidders – three locals and one each from Sydney and Melbourne – attending the onsite auction. Four raised their paddles.
Perched atop the iconic Silverton building at 51/3510 Main Beach Parade, the 918-square-metre apartment is among the largest on the Gold Coast.Credit: Domain/Ray White Main Beach
Bidding opened at $6 million and surged past $7.25 million in minutes, with increments dropping to $50,000 and then $10,000 bids as the pace intensified. At $10 million the home was called on the market. When the price reached $10.9 million the underbidder, a local, made a phone call that prompted one final $50,000 move – only for the Melbourne family to fire back with the winning $11 million bid.
“Harry was on the phone listening to the whole auction and he was over the moon at the result,” Graham said.
“For a person of his net worth this doesn’t change his life in any way but it was a great result for him personally because it was Rhonda’s penthouse.
“And it sold for well over the reserve … and to a lovely family.
Sydney-based billionaire Harry “High-Rise” Triguboff sold the holiday-home property after the death of his wife.Credit: Domain/Ray White Main Beach
“You can’t find anything else like this in Main Beach like this penthouse … and while the buyers will have to spend considerable money on it, it’s worth it.”
The home was among 129 scheduled auctions across south-east Queensland. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 48 per cent from 87 reported results, with 12 homes withdrawn.
In Brisbane, an asbestos-riddled three-bedroom house in dire need of a reno sparked a fierce battle of the first home buyers – forcing a young local couple to pay $841,000 for the keys.
Perched on a 506-square-metre block at 128 Normanhurst Road, Boondall, the high-set house is in its original condition and had never changed hands.
Six bidders – including an investor and a buyer eyeing a knock-down rebuild – turned up, though only three remained active once the price surged past early budgets.
The investor kicked bidding off with a “cheeky” $700,000 phone bid, but was forced to tap out at $775,000. The auction then rose in fast and furious increments between two first-home buyers until a couple from Lutwyche nabbed the keys after just five minutes.
Selling agent Chris Rhode, of Ray White Aspley, said the buyers planned to renovate the home and were serious from the outset, even commissioning their own building and pest report because of the asbestos risk.
“They were in shock at the end when they got it. The woman just went silent, her eyes welled up,” he said.
“They have been looking for about five or six months, and they were getting to the stage where they realised the new five per cent first home buyer deposit scheme was doing nothing to increase supply but just fuelling demand.”
Over in Corinda, a rare green “time capsule” at 91 Donaldson Street sold for $1.345 million after a pair of local downsizers outbid an investor hoping to landbank the home for his kids.
The north-facing three-bedroom cottage on a 610-square-metre block oozes retro vibes, complete with shagpile carpet, purple, orange and green walls and a lime and pink kitchen. It has remained in the same family since it was built in the 1950s.
Selling agent Brett Andreassen, of Plum Property, said the home attracted strong interest from renovators through to first home buyers and downsizers.
A lowball $600,000 bid kickstarted the auction before the price rocketed to $900,000.
“At $1.3 million it dropped to $1000 bids, then a new buyer jumped in and lifted to $5000 bids to seal it. They live locally and wanted something small and low maintenance. They’ll keep the existing house,” he said.
“Homes like this don’t come up that often a lot of the houses in Corinda are prewar, classic Queenslanders. So having a 1950s original time capsule is just a rarity.
“I knew it would be hotly contested because of what it is and where it is but trying to find properties to compare it was tough.”
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said Brisbane’s market remained robust with tight stock levels and rising rents continuing to fuel first-home-buyer activity.
“It’s like a giant merry-go-round right now. We keep providing more assistance but it does nothing to solve the underlying problem that housing is more expensive compared to wages,” he said.
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