The Block 2023: ‘Billionaire’ entrepreneur Adrian ‘Mr Lambo’ Portelli breaks record after bidding against himself and spending $12.4M to prove he wasn’t a ‘dummy bidder’ | Daily Mail Online
Billionaire entrepreneur Adrian Portelli caused a scene at The Block auction for the second year in a row, dropping $12.4million in total on three houses.
In an attempt to redeem himself from last year’s ‘dummy bidder’ scandal, ‘Mr Lambo’ broke his own record.
The self-proclaimed ‘billionaire’ gave Steph and Gian a massive win, before bidding against himself for Eliza and Liberty’s home.
On Sunday’s nail-biting finale, Steph and Gian were the runaway winners when their house selling for an incredible $5million.
They walked away with $1.65 million profit plus prize money of $100,000, bringing their total earnings to a record breaking $1.75 million.
Adrian Portelli caused a scene at The Block auction for the second year in a row, dropping $12.4million in total on three houses
House 4 was first to auction, and it was a tense time for the pair, who called their $3.35 million reserve ‘hell’ and feared they would not make money on the sale.
The bidding quickly reached $4million thanks to serial bidder Danny Wallace, but the action was halted when a woman fainted on set and was taken to hospital.
After the pause, the bidding stalled at $4million, before Adrian jumped the bid a million dollars straight up to $5million – and the hammer fell, with House 4 sold.
In an attempt to redeem himself from last year’s ‘dummy bidder’ scandal , ‘Mr Lambo’ broke his own record
Steph and Gian’s House 4 was first to auction. The $5million meant they walked away with $1.65 million profit plus prize money of $100,000, bringing their total earnings to a record breaking $1.75 million
The $5million sale gave the pair $1.65 million profit, with Steph and Gian embracing and bursting into tears as they called the money, ‘life changing’.
Adrian said he broke another Block record because he wanted to prove he was a real bidder following controversy at last season’s auction.
‘After the slack I copped last year, I had to prove I’m not a dummy bidder and came out hard and strong,’ he said.
‘I feel like it’s the most appealing house to a broad audience and, yeah, it was the favourite and I won it.’
They were made instant millionaires
It was a tense time for the pair, who called their $3.35 million reserve ‘hell’ and feared they would not make money on the sale
The house was sold to Adrian Portelli (pictured), known as ‘Mr Lambo’, who said he wanted to prove he was a real bidder after controversy last season
Steph and Gian embraced as they called the money, ‘life changing’
The other contestants were happy for the couple
He continued: ‘And Steph and Gian are just very deserving as well. Incredible people. They’ve done an amazing job.’
Last year, Adrian got into a bidding war with Block veteran Danny, prompting the IT entrepreneur to give Omar Slaimankhel and Ozman ‘Oz’ Abu Malik a massive win.
Steph and Gian’s $1.75million broke Omar and Oz’s record-smashing win of $1,686,666.
‘It’s an incredible feeling. We are so overwhelmed right now and can’t believe it,’ Steph and Gian said.
‘It was such a surreal day, and to end on such a high like this after all the hard work is amazing.’
Steph and Gian’s win also broke last year’s record which was $1.68 million
House 4 is pictured
‘We are so grateful that Adrian Portelli saw something in our house which we love so much. This will change our lives’ they said
They continued: ‘We are so grateful that Adrian Portelli saw something in our house which we love so much. This will change our lives.
‘We have no idea what we are going to do with the money yet. It’s going to clear our debts in Sydney.
‘It’s going to set us up for whatever the next stage is. It’s just unbelievable.’
But Adrian wasn’t done yet, as next on the block were sisters Eliza and Liberty with House 5 up for grabs at a $3.25million reserve.
The bidding reached $4.1million during a showdown between Danny and Adrian, stalling for some time as the two men considered their options.
Adrian jumped up to $4.2million, taking the odd move of bidding against himself – which has never happened on the show before.
Next on the block were sisters Eliza and Liberty with House 5 up for grabs with a $3.25million reserve. House 5 was sold for $4.3 million, earning the siblings a profit of $1.050 million
Adrian jumped up to $4.2 million, taking the odd move of bidding against himself – which has never happened on the show before
He did it yet again a moment later, outbidding himself and shocking those around him once more when he put in another offer at $4.3million.
House 5 sold for $4.3million, earning the siblings a profit of $1.050 million after a phone bidder pulled out.
The pair wept they would have ‘never made this much money in their lives’ had it not been for the Channel Nine renovation show.
Despite helping two teams net a combined $2.7million in profits, Adrian wasn’t done showing off his deep pockets as he swooped in to scoop up Kyle and Leslie’s home.
House 1 was up next with a reserve of $2.97million, and there was hope as Danny had not yet bought a house, and neither had celebrity bidder Dave Hughes.
However, Kyle and Leslie’s house struggled to make the reserve with the auction absolutely crawling before Adrian jumped in, taking the price to $3.1 million.
Kyle and Leslie’s House 1 was up next with a reserve of $2.97 million
House 3 was sold for $3.1, winning the couple $130,000 which was bittersweet
House 1 is pictured
House 3 was sold for the $3.1million, winning the couple $130,000 which was bittersweet.
Leslie said she was ‘happy’ with the cash, but wiped away tears as the other contestants congratulated her.
It seemed Adrian was done showing off at this point as he sat back and watched while couples Kristy and Brett, and Leah and Ash struggled to sell their homes.
Kristy and Brett’s House 3 had a reserve of $2.97million and the pair said they were ‘not calm’ going into the auction.
There was immense frustration from the couple as the bidding stalled and the price just barely crawled over the reserve.
He did it yet again, outbid himself once more, putting in an offer at $4.3 million
The pair wept that they’d have ‘never made this much money in their lives’ had it not been for the show
House 5 is pictured
They twice called a pause to the auction to speak to their auctioneer, flying into a rage when the bidding didn’t start strong and when the auctioneer alienated Danny and Adrian with his quips.
With both Adrian and Danny sitting it out, the price crawled up so slowly, leaving the couple ‘devastated’.
‘How can we tank so heavily after 1 and 2?’ an upset Kristy said, adding that the $65,000 they raised over reserve wouldn’t cover three months of their work.
‘It is an absolute steal. It is almost free at this level,’ said comedian Dave Hughes, who was taking part in the auction.
Kristy and Brett’s House 3 had a reserve of $2.97million. There was immense frustration from the pair as the bidding stalled and the price just barely crawled over the reserve
They twice called a pause to the auction to speak to the auctioneer, flying into a rage over the bidding not starting at a stronger figure. It was no use, and House 3 sold for just $3 million, the couple taking home just $65,000
Kristy was left in tears, saying that her agent ‘f***ed it up for us’ and that ‘Australia got what they wanted’
House three is pictured
However, Kristy and Brett’s frustration was no use, and House 3 sold for just $3million with the couple taking home just $65,000 in profit.
Kristy was left in tears, saying that her agent ‘f***ed it up for us’ and that ‘Australia got what they wanted’.
Leah and Ash were last to auction, with their House 2 up at a $2.97million reserve, and Danny still having not made a purchase.
However, the main buyer who showed interest in the property was revealed to be the woman who was earlier taken to hospital, and now there was no one as keen.
Leah and Ash were last to auction, with their House 2 up with a $2.97 million reserve
There was again a struggle for the house to even reach the reserve price
After tense negotiations, the house was indeed passed in and did not sell on the day
There was again a struggle for the house to even reach the reserve price and there was talk of passing it in.
After tense negotiations, the house was indeed passed in and did not sell on the day.
Dave Hughes expressed some interest but said he needed to check with his wife, and the house would instead go on sale on Monday leaving the pair empty handed.
They however decided it was the best decision for them, and hoped to speak with the interested bidder who was hospitalised to see if she was still keen.
House 2 is pictured