Inside the Gupta mansion auctioned for nearly 50% less than its value
Only one former Gupta-owned Saxonwold property sold at a recent auction — with a single bid that fetched nearly half its estimated value. Here’s a look inside.
A buyer purchased one of the Gupta family’s former Saxonwold mansions at auction this week for nearly half its original price, after it received just one bid.
The property, along with two others, had previously made headlines due to over R700,000 in unpaid municipal rates owed to the City of Johannesburg.
The Supreme Court of Appeal placed the mansions and other movable assets under public auction as part of a business rescue plan linked to the Guptas’ insolvent company, Confident Concept.
INSIDE THE GUPTA MANSION SOLD AT A ‘DISCOUNT’
According to Park Village Auctions, just one Gupta-owned property was auctioned off this week – number 3 Saxonworld Drive, at just R3.3 million.
The three-bedroom staff residence received just one bidder. The 3,687m², single-storey home was initially priced at R5 million. Auctioneer Clive Lazarus said: “The property, which was reportedly used for staff accommodation or security quarters, is in a state of disrepair”.
Take a look inside…
OTHER PROPERTIES ON AUCTION – AND WHY THEY DIDN’T SELL
The auction also included numbers 5 and 7 Saxonwold Drive, two properties within the former Gupta compound, but neither received any bids.
Number 5, a three-story mansion with eight bedrooms, five en-suites, an indoor pool, and a rooftop patio, is still on the market at R21.73 million.
However, its furnishings were sold for just R100,000. Number 7, the largest of the properties, features 17 en-suite bedrooms, a cinema, a beauty salon, and a grand triple-volume foyer.
Despite being valued at R36.86 million, the contents of the opulent property fetched only R60,000.
According to Park Village Auctions disposal manager Graham van Niekerk, the two properties failed to sell due to several factors, such as high municipal rates, restrictive residential zoning, structural damage, and the “stigma” associated with the Gupta name.