‘It makes you cry when it goes to auction’
A billionaire couple have spoken of the struggle they’ve been through after being forced to sell possessions that won’t fit into their new mansion.
Former Real Housewives of Melbourne star Janet Roach and her partner Sam Gance – the boss of the Chemist Warehouse pharmacy chain, which is valued at around $5bn and has an annual revenue of more than $3bn – have recently moved out of their Toorak mansion in Australia to a new property on Lansell Road.
They bagged their new home for the bargain price of AU$43 million ($28 million), which set a record for being the most expensive home sold at auction in the whole of Australia when they purchased it in 2021.
But they only started the moving process last year, because a lot of the luxury art they owned “couldn’t fit” in the mansion once it was furnished.
So, the couple stayed in their old property for longer so they could keep the pieces for longer.
Roach told the Herald Sun that they were selling the art because it “couldn’t fit into [the new] house… it wasn’t the right size.”
“A lot of it makes you cry when it goes to auction,” she said.
The couple are going to sell a lot of the pieces for much less than they had bought them for, giving collectors a bargain price.
She said: “There’s this fabulous chandelier, but it only takes candles. [Gance] paid something ridiculous for it.”
But while it’s a shame to be parting ways with the luxury items, Roach doesn’t seem to have any regrets about the move of mansion.
“It’s serene and calm and beautiful,” she said.
“We’re absolutely blessed and lucky.”
If you fancy something for the living room and have some spare cash lying about, some of the items on sale include an antique mounted deer head with gazelle horns starting at AU$1,800 (£967) and a pair of 19th century French Empire candelabras starting at AU$4,000 (£2,149).
The auction will get underway on April 30.
According to Forbes, Jack and Sam Gance, who started Chemist Warehouse in 1995 with Mario Verrocchi with just five pharmacies, are now worth $1.35 billion, earning them a spot on Australia’s coveted 50 Richest list.
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