3 hours ago
6
Billionaire Alex Birkenstock, heir of German cult sandal brand Birkenstock, and his wife, Vanessa, have bought a $51.5 million whole-floor apartment in Sydney’s Crown Residences in cash.
Transfer documents this week reveal Alex Birkenstock as the buyer of a four-bedroom, three-bathroom abode, previously owned by the late Robert Blann, Kerry Packer’s bookmaker. There is no mention of a mortgage on the title, indicating a cash purchase.
The footwear entrepreneur has been adding to his Australian property portfolio. This is the third residential purchase, all mortgage-free, since December, totalling $143 million. Alex has a reported net wealth of $US2.1 billion ($2.96 billion) , according to Forbes.
A sale sticker went up on the listing for the Crown residence with the price withheld, indicating a sale by private treaty on February 17.
It was left to settlement documents this week to reveal the exact sale price of the long-term leasehold and buyer’s identity as The Agency’s co-founder Steven Chen was tight-lipped when contacted by this masthead.
He did, however, confirm to this masthead in February that the property transacted for a figure above the $50 million guide.
Chen is behind other significant Crown sales including the $70 million penthouse that sold to Lawrence Myers, chief executive of James Packer’s family office Consolidated Press Holdings, and his wife, Sylvia, and a circa $36 million four-bedroom, four-bathroom apartment that sold to co-owner of Sydney’s Luna Park, Bill Gravanis.
The Birkenstocks purchased the abode from Blann’s estate; Blann was one of Australia’s leading bookmakers in the late ’70s and early ’80s, with high-profile clients including Packer, before retiring at age 46 to become an investor and financier. He purchased the apartment off the plan for $41 million in 2018, records show, and died aged 85 in 2023.
Crown’s full-floor residences are tightly held and highly desirable.
The Birkenstocks’ new pad has more than 525 square metres of internal floor space, equating to about $98,095 a square metre.
It occupies a whole upper floor and comes with five living zones, an executive-style study and parking for four cars. There is a media lounge, piano lounge, 12-16 seat dining setting, a wine-tasting zone and a built-in wine gallery.
Residents and guests can access the property from the grand lobby, while service staff can head straight to the butler’s kitchen.
Interiors by New York City’s Meyer Davis feature leather, wood and marble detail. The primary suite has two dressing rooms, a steam room and a balcony for the ultimate in luxury.
Each bedroom offers a unique vantage point, with views from Botany Bay to the Blue Mountains, but by far the crème de la crème is the postcard north-east outlook over Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.
World-class entertaining is available for residents, with access to a personal chef, optional room service with a curated wine list, priority seating at Crown restaurants, and resort facilities for residents including a tennis court, pool, spa and cabanas.
The Crown residence is one of three new property purchases for the Birkenstocks. In February, Alex emerged on transfer documents as the cash buyer of Sydney’s top residential property sale of 2025, an $83.5 million waterfront estate in Rose Bay.
The five-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion was purchased in December from Lawrence Myers, and his wife, Sylvia.
Listing agents Steven Chen and Pillinger’s Brad Pillinger declined to comment on any aspect of the sale or buyer’s identity when contacted by this masthead. Buyers’ agent Simon Cohen of Cohen Handler is thought to have represented the buyer, and also declined to comment.
Also in February, this masthead exclusively revealed Alex as the buyer of an $8 million Victorian mansion in Melbourne’s Brighton.
Transfer documents show Alex as the buyer of a four-bedroom, three-bathroom house with a pool and terrace, with no mention of a mortgage on the title.
The property was sold in December by Alex Schiavo of Kay & Burton Bayside who declined to comment on any aspect of the sale or buyer’s identity when contacted.
