27-year-old Chinese heir buys $52m Sydney mansion Angelina Jolie used to live in

A 27-year-old Chinese heir has become the proud new owner of a A$52 million (S$52 million) mansion in one of Sydney's most exclusive neighbourhoods.

The 1920s-era trophy home is not just any old house, but has been recently been rented by a bevy of Hollywood A-listers, including actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, as well as music stars Beyonce and Jay Z.

Known as Villa Igiea, the waterfront mansion in Sydney's exclusive Vaucluse suburb has five bedrooms and four bathrooms, and comes with panoramic views of the Sydney harbour, reported Britain's Daily Mail.

The man behind the purchase is Shangjin Lin, also known as Jim. His father, Yi Lin, is a property developer who owns China-based real estate firm Shenglong, and was recently ranked 92 on the Hurun Rich List 2015.

The younger Mr Lin is the managing director of Shenglong's Australian subsidiary Aqualand, which has been behind over A$600 million of redevelopment acquisitions in the past two years, Australian real estate website Domain reported.

The deal will make the mansion the Sydney's second most expensive property. The most expensive is a nearby mansion previously owned by casino tycoon James Packer, which was snapped up for A$70 million by a Chinese-Australian businessman in August last year, according to English-language tabloid website Shanghaiist.

According to The Daily Mail, Mr Lin will most likely make the mansion his family home with his wife and child, though he is not expected to move in straight away.

Mr Lin is not the first Chinese business tycoon to snap up luxury properties in cities around the world. In Dec 2015, Asia's richest man Wang Jianlin shelled out 80 million pounds (S$168 million) for a house in London's exclusive Billionaires Row.

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