Secrets of Melbourne’s ‘Mr Lambo’: How The Block star made his $1 billion fortune while giving away yet another property

Melbourne billionaire Adrian Portelli, also known as ‘Mr Lambo’, has given away another home from his impressive property portfolio as the secrets of how the sports car enthusiast earned his $1 billion net worth are revealed.

Portelli, who founded the online competition website LMCT+ in 2018, offered its members the chance to win a house built by Steph and Gian on the final season of The Block or $2.5 million in cash during a mega giveaway at Christmas Eve.

Sydney couple Michelle and Roger decided to take the money after the 34-year-old broke the life-changing news over the phone on Christmas Day.

Portelli’s net worth is estimated by the AFR to be more than $1 billion, taking into account his collection of properties and luxury cars and the paper value of LMCT+.

The entrepreneur was seventh on the Financial Review Young Rich List this year.

The 34-year-old dropped out of college and started working at his father’s truck repair business before moving to Los Angeles to set up a limousine service for celebrities.

While struggling to pay the rent, he found a roommate online who helped him develop several successful apps, which he later sold.

However, Portelli’s passion has always been cars, and he later founded the car enthusiasts club LMCT+ in 2018, which has grown into Australia’s largest and fastest growing car community, earning an estimated $60 million last year.

LMCT+ makes money by charging subscription fees to users, who gain access to exclusive competitions, with prizes such as houses, bikes, cars and boats.

It has about 100,000 customers who pay a monthly subscription.

Subscribers also receive exclusive offers from more than 1,000 partners, such as Beaurepaires, Patriot Campers and Prestige Autoworks.

The Young Rich Lister previously admitted he has lost count of the number of rare, limited edition sports cars he owns, but believes there are fewer than 50.

He also admitted that he does not know the full size of his real estate portfolio.

“I’m always humble because where I ended up wasn’t easy,” the Rich Lister told the Australian Financial Review in October.

‘Every day I woke up thinking I was successful. I was just consumed by it. I was just a bit of a loner, mate, and motivated myself and just kept going.”

Last year, Portelli was accused of being a dummy bidder to inflate the price of contestants Omar and Oz’s home.

After arriving in a yellow Lamborghini, he placed a record bid of $4.5 million on the property which was eventually sold to IT entrepreneur Danny Wallis.

Following accusations of being a dummy bidder, Portelli returned to the final season of The Block to prove he could put his money where his mouth is.

He bought Steph and Gian’s house for $5 million, Eliza and Liberty’s house for $4.3 million, and Kyle and Leslie’s house for $3.1 million.

A few months earlier, Portelli purchased the $3 million waterfront Gold Coast home from his business partner Troy ‘Candy’ Williams’.

The five-bedroom, four-bathroom home was listed for $2.8 million to $3 million, but the exact sales price was not disclosed.

The millionaire investor’s extensive property portfolio also includes Melbourne’s most expensive apartment: a $39 million penthouse in the city.

However, Portelli insisted he only wanted to use it as a ‘weekend’.

In May this year, he posted photos of himself posing next to the $3 million supercar he had just towed into his high-rise penthouse.

‘A first look at the McLaren Senna GTR 57, one floor up. Thank you to everyone involved for making this absolutely surreal moment possible,” he wrote.

But the community’s response to the stunt was immediate, with Portelli defending his appearance on The Block and attacking Greens leader Adam Bandt, who criticized him on Twitter for the crane stunt.

“Labor is giving this man a $9,000 tax cut while people are starving on $52 a day,” he wrote.

However, Portelli quickly hit back, accusing the politician of using him as a “political tool to sympathize.”

“First, my name was publicly trashed, suggesting I was a fake bidder who couldn’t afford The Block’s house,” he wrote.

‘I even suggested that I was friends with the participants because of my ethnicity.

‘Now people are crying because I have too much money.

‘MAKE A DECISION PEOPLE.’

Earlier this year, Daily Mail Australia revealed Portelli tried to suppress accusations of hooning from being made public due to his high profile.

However, the judge rejected any idea of ​​issuing a suppression order, opening the court and providing Portelli’s charge sheets to the media.

Court documents show Portelli is accused of going on a high-speed binge in the Melbourne suburb of Diggers Rest just before Christmas 2020, with police targeting him with charges including careless driving, improper operation of a vehicle and driving in a manner causing a vehicle loses traction.