Australian-Based Stake.com Co-Founder Buys Rockefeller Mansion for Whopping AU$ 70m

Australian-based co-founder of online crypto casino stake.com, Bijan Tehrani, has snapped up a new luxury property in New York—paying more than AU$70 million (US$47 million) for a New York townhouse previously owned by famed investment banker David Rockefeller. 

The Wall Street Journal broke the news of Tehrani’s purchase. The property was listed on the market earlier this year for AU$86.3 million (US$57.5 million) by sellers Doug and Lily Band, who bought the townhome for AU$30 million (US$20 million) in 2018 before undertaking a four-year renovation.

High-end Residence Boasts Five Levels, Eight Bedrooms, Basketball Court

American Banker David Rockefeller, patriarch of the legendarily wealthy Rockefeller family, lived in the Manhattan Townhouse originally built in 1924 and located on East 65th Street, for almost seven decades. 

Distinctive features of the property include a width of 40 feet, front and rear gardens, five levels including a basement and a rooftop deck, eight bedrooms, eight fireplaces, a spiral staircase, sauna and gym, and a 17-foot sports court.

Both stake.com Founders Favour Luxury Property

Having grown up in Connecticut in the US, Tehrani co-founded stake.com with Australian entrepreneur Edward Craven. An investigation by The Age revealed in 2021 that the operation—thought to be the world’s largest online crypto casino—was being run out of Melbourne, but is registered in the Dutch Island of Curacao (outside the reach of Australian anti-money laundering laws). 

While the company is run out of Australia, Australians aren’t legally able to access gambling games via stake.com due to online casinos being banned here.

Tehrani’s co-founder Craven is also in the habit of spending big on mansions, having bought two properties in Melbourne in 2022—including setting a new real estate record for Victoria to buy the so-called “ghost house” on Georges Road, Toorak for AU$88 million.