Murdoch outbids Crowe for mansion

       Lachlan Murdoch paid A$23 million (US$21 million) to buy France's former consulate in Sydney's eastern suburbs, setting an Australian auction record for a single house and beating out actor Russell Crowe.
       The six-bedroom estate on Victoria Road in Bellevue Hill, known as Le Manoir, was owned by the French government since 1956 and has ocean and harbour views, said Michael Pallier, the principal at Raine & Horne Double Bay,which ran the sale.
       The auction, attended personally by Murdoch, was conducted at 6 pm on Thursday and lasted 10 minutes.
       There weren't any signs of a global financial crisis at the auction with 10 registered bidders going hammer and tongs at it, Pallier said by phone. It was one of a handful of Sydney's eastern suburb's trophy homes and they rarely become available.
       Lachlan,38, is the eldest son of News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch. Born in Melbourne in 1931, Rupert Murdoch built News Corp into a global media company with assets including Fox News,the Wall Street Journal and the MySpace social-networking website, after inheriting Adelaide newspaper assets from his own father, Keith. The News Corp chairman was in Australia this week.
       The sale was reported earlier in the Australian Financial Review , which said Crowe monitored the sale via the internet.
       Lachlan Murdoch could not immediately be reached at the Sydney office of his private investment company Illyria Pty.
       "Le Manoir is on 4,097 square metres (1.01 acres) of land with panoramic views,a tennis court, swimming pool and a three-car garage," Pallier said. The house was built in 1926.
       "There's probably only a handful of homes that are in Bellevue Hill which sit on over an acre of land, so a substantial offering, a very unique offering," Damien Cooley, director and auctioneer, Cooley Auctions, said by phone yesterday."Topend real estate is really starting to come good. It's been challenging for the last few years, particularly with the global financial crisis."
       "The French government paid 26,000 Australian pounds for the property in 1956 and the house has only had two owners," Cooley said.