Mike Cannon-Brookes’ Fairwater estate named ‘Australia’s best mansion’

A multimillion-dollar Sydney mansion that was once owned by the media-mogul Fairfax family has been deemed Australia’s ‘most covetable’ property. 

The 1.12 hectare Point Piper estate was featured on Australia’s Top 50 Mansions in The List’s November 2019 issue, beating out mega-mansions once owned by the likes of James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch. 

The heritage-listed home, dubbed Fairwater, now belongs to tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes who broke the record for the most expensive residential mansion sale last year when he purchased it for an eye-watering $100million.

The property had been in the Fairfax family for more than a century and was listed for sale after Lady Mary Fairfax’s death last September. 

The sprawling 1.12 hectare estate, known as Fairwater, is the most expensive home ever sold in Australia. The heritage-listed property was formerly owned by the Fairfax family for more than a century

Mr Cannon-Brookes, 40, has a reported net worth of $8.1billion after making his fortune through software giant Atlassian, which he co-founded with Scott Farquhar (right) in 2002 

The home was only on the market for a little over two weeks before the 40-year-old made it his own. 

There are no renovations planned for the eastern suburbs mansion which backs onto the golden sands of a Sydney Harbour beach. 

Fairwaters was listed for sale after Lady Mary Fairfax’s death last September

In March, it was reported Mr Cannon-Brookes and his wife Annie mortgaged the house through Credit Suisse for an unknown amount. 

Mr Cannon-Brookes has a net-worth of $8.1billion after making his fortune through software giant Atlassian, which he co-founded with Scott Farquhar in 2002. 

Incidentally, Mr Farquhar’s waterfront mansion, Elaine, which neighbours Fairwater, was also previously owned by the Fairfaxes, and comes second on the list with a price tag of $71million. 

Mr Farquhar reportedly paid for the home entirely in cash in 2017. 

Atlassian propelled the two entrepreneurs to the Rich List stratosphere and was listed on the NASDAQ with a market capitalisation of US$25billion. 

Incidentally, Mr Farquhar’s waterfront mansion, Elaine (pictured) which neighbours Fairwater and was also previously owned by the Fairfaxes, comes second on the list with a price tag of $71million

The billionaire best friends now live next door to each other in sprawling estates after the September purchase of Fairwater.

Despite their new-found wealth, the pair have said they still catch public transport to work just like ordinary people. 

The home-grown rags-to-riches tale is an inspiration for ordinary Sydney folk who are struggling with large mortgages and stagnant incomes during a property price downturn.

Trailing not too far behind on the top 50 list is the La Mer mansion (pictured) which once belonged to Australian businessman James Packer 

The Vaucluse home sold in 2015 for a whopping $70million and is now owned Chinese-Australian property developer Chau Chak Wing

The average mortgage in Sydney was $423,500 at the end of February according to the latest figures from research firm Digital Finance Analytics.

A total of 158,581 households in Sydney were experiencing mortgage stress at the end of February, according to Digital Finance Analytics. 

Trailing not too far behind on the top 50 list is the La Mer mansion which once belonged to Australian businessman James Packer. 

The Vaucluse home sold in 2015 for a whopping $70million and is now owned Chinese-Australian property developer Chau Chak Wing.