New York-based Droga bought the modest bungalow Lang Syne, on a 1100sqm block overlooking the sea at Tamarama, for $45m in May and it’s set to be his holiday house.
“I always thought it was the best piece of land in Sydney,” Droga recently told Ad News.
The New York-based CEO of media company Accenture Song grew up “inheriting hand me downs” as one of six kids in Perisher in the Snowy Mountains in NSW.
“I love Sydney and I’ve always come back,” he said.
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“And I’m obviously coming back at Christmas with my four kids and wife,” he said.
He says Tama was the first place he lived when he left boarding school in the Southern HIghlands at the age of 18, sleeping on a couch for six months with two of his brothers.
When he spotted the land for sale, he says “the stars were aligned”.
Lang Sayne,was built in the 1920s and sold for £9750 in 1959.
The price guide was $47m-$52m.
Droga was represented by Simon Cohen of buyer’s agent Cohen Handler.
The sales agent, Ken Jacobs of Forbes Global Properties, has not commented.
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Lang Syne was built in 1924 by George Wolf, a boot and shoe manufacturer.
The buyer in 1959 was radio funnyman Harry Griffiths, who starred in the comedy sketch McCackie Mansions with Roy “Mo” Rene.
Griffiths widow Dimity, who is 82, has lived in the Californian bungalow for 63 years.
Droga started his career at OMON agency before a sting at Saatchi and Saatchi in London.
He founded his own agency called Droga5 in 2006 which he sold to Accenture for $US475m.
The previous record for Australia’s most expensive oceanfront property was broken by 9 Kenneth Street in Tamarama. The old apartment block of five units were sold to socialite Di Maloney for $29.2m in 2021.
The oceanfront record before that was $29m for James Packer’s bachelor pad on Campbell Pde, Bondi Beach, set in 2018.
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Originally published as ‘Irresponsible’: real story behind Australia’s most expensive oceanfront home
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