Ex-casino boss John Alexander relists $26 million home, first offered north of $40m

Former Crown Resorts executive chairman John Alexander and his wife, Alice Alexander, have put their contemporary Southern Highlands home back on the market with a price guide of $26 million to $28 million.

It’s a sizable discount to prospective buyers, given this masthead previously revealed the sprawling property known as Paloma in the town of Robertson was first listed for north of $40 million in 2024 through a different agency.

The couple is selling and moving to Italy, where Alice was born.

“We are sad to be parting ways from Paloma, which we created from scratch, from a beef cattle farm without any infrastructure to a private sanctuary. We are moving to Italy where we’ve owned a beautiful old house for the past 25 years in Piedmont,” they told this masthead in a statement.

Records show that Mrs Alexander bought the 39-hectare property in 2010 for $2.38 million.

On offer is a total of eight bedrooms and six bathrooms, with an ultra-contemporary main residence of glass, concrete and steel that was completed in 2018 by Fearon Hay Architects and Michela Curetti Interior Design. Design notes include imported Italian marble, reclaimed timber and Belgian oak floors.

There are also two self-contained studios, a three-bedroom cottage, rose gardens, an orchard, stables and a riding arena. Rural and rainforest views are other drawcards.

The Alexander family’s home is being sold by Bradley Cocks of Drew Lindsay Sotheby’s International Realty.

In 2020, Mr Alexander stepped down as executive chairman of Crown Resorts as part of a sweeping governance overhaul.

The changes came as Crown faced intense scrutiny from a public inquiry into the company and the future of its casino licence in Sydney. The inquiry followed revelations in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that Crown went into business with “junket” tour operators linked to organised crime.

At the inquiry, Mr Alexander, a longstanding Packer family lieutenant, denied having knowledge of the extent of the junket issues.

In February 2021, former Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin found Crown Sydney Gaming to not be a “suitable person” to hold the licence and Crown Resorts to not be a suitable “close associate”. Crown Resorts got its licence back three years later.

Mr Alexander is a former editor-in-chief of The Sydney Morning Herald.

Billionaire heiress officially offloads home

Kathryn McLay, an Australian expat and the former president and chief executive of Walmart International, and her husband, Jason McLay, have emerged as the buyers of a home in Sydney’s Chippendale.

Settlement documents this month show the couple paid $13 million to Beau Neilson, the daughter of two billionaires, Judith Neilson, an arts patron and philanthropist, and her former husband, investment manager Kerr Neilson.

Mrs McLay left Walmart earlier this year after nearly three years in the chief executive role, and previously worked at Woolworths and was president and chief executive of Sam’s Club US. She said they will live in the three-level, five-bedroom, four-bathroom residence.

“We are looking forward to making Sydney our home again while I continue my work globally. We are looking forward to this next chapter,” Mrs McLay said.

The Chippendale house was purchased as a dilapidated building by Beau Neilson for $3.1 million in 2012, who took out a type of mortgage from her parents. Judith and Kerr Neilson placed a caveat on the title.

MCK Architects transformed the space to include a copper-clad lift, a hidden door in a bookcase wall, gallery spaces and an indoor pool.

Beau Neilson bought a five-bedroom, four-bathroom property in Double Bay for $20 million in cash last year. She owns music and entertainment venue The Vanguard in Newtown, is a trustee of the Powerhouse Museum and a board member of MusicNSW.

Her parents made The Australian Financial Review’s 2026 Rich List, with Judith’s estimated wealth at $1.21 billion and Kerr’s at $2.04 billion.

Shannan Whitney of BresicWhitney East sold the Chippendale home but declined to comment on any aspect of the sale when contacted by this masthead.

Discounted Point Piper mansion sells

A Point Piper mansion has sold after the listing agents offered buyers a discount that could be as much as $20 million.

The four-bedroom, four-bathroom residence with a jetty, boat shed and pool hit the market in May with a price guide of $50 million to $55 million, local sources revealed.

In July, the buyer’s guide was adjusted to $41 million to $45 million, as stated on the listing, and down to a further $35 million in August.

Local sources say the property sold for about $35 million, after a sold sticker went up on the listing with the price withheld.

Settlement will reveal the exact sale price and buyer’s identity as all agents declined to comment.

James Dunn of Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty told this masthead in July that the first price reduction reflected market feedback, with buyers factoring in the cost and time involved in renovating or rebuilding.

Title records show the property is in the company name of Haduso Pty Ltd, where Chow Kwok Ching, the son of late Singaporean property developer Chow Cho Poon, is listed as one of a few directors. Haduso Pty Ltd paid $343,000 for the address in 1977.

Dunn sold the mansion in conjunction with Michael Dunn of Richardson & Wrench Double Bay, and Maclay Longhurst of Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty.

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Kristy Johnson is a prestige property reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.AdvertisementAdvertisement