Soheil Abedian
Soheil Abedian | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1949 Khoramabad, Iran |
| Occupation(s) | Property developer, philanthropist |
| Known for | Co-founder of Sunland Group, philanthropic efforts, recipient of Order of Australia Medal |
Soheil Abedian (born 1949) is an Australian property developer originally from Iran and a co-founder of the Sunland Group. He is well-known for his philanthropic efforts and has been honored with several awards, including the Centenary Medal of Australia, the QCF Philanthropist of the Year accolade, the Keys to the City of the Gold Coast, and an Order of Australia Medal. Despite these recognitions, Abedian has been involved in controversies, notably being mentioned in a Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission report concerning Gold Coast Council elections and labeled as an uncooperative witness during a Victorian Supreme Court case connected to Sunland.
Foundation on the Gold Coast
Abedian was born in 1949 in Khoramabad, Iran. By 1970, he had relocated to Austria where he earned a master's degree in architecture from the University of Graz in 1979. During a visit to Brisbane in 1980, he decided to move with his family to Australia's Gold Coast, arriving there in 1981. Initially, he and his brother Sep sold carpets while Abedian sought to work as an architect; however, he was unable to practice without additional qualifications recognized in Australia.
In 1983, Abedian partnered with Foad Fathi to establish Sunland Group, which specialized in high-end residential properties. The company quickly gained traction with a luxury villa project completed in 1986 and ventured into high-rise construction by 1987. By 1992, Sunland was developing waterfront luxury residences on the Gold Coast and went public on the Australian Securities Exchange in 1995. Two years later, it had become the largest developer on the Gold Coast, although Abedian kept a low media profile. With limited development opportunities remaining in Surfers Paradise by that time, he expanded his focus beyond the local area.
In 1997, Abedian pursued a luxury hotel project inspired by Versace branding. After Gianni Versace’s passing prevented a direct meeting, Abedian and his son Sahba secured approval from Santo Versace in Milan in 1998 to proceed with the Versace Hotel on the Gold Coast. In 1999, he also investigated potential locations in Miami. The hotel officially opened during the Sydney Olympic Games in September 2000.
That same year, Abedian joined the Heart of the City taskforce for the Gold Coast City Council. Alongside four others, he threatened to resign unless the Council committed $2 million toward Surfers Paradise development. He openly criticized the Council’s indecisiveness and lack of strategic vision for advancing the city.
In June 2001, Abedian launched Sunland’s flagship project: the 78-storey Q1 Tower, which was completed in 2005 through a partnership with GWA Ltd’s Anderson family.
A 2006 report by the Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission revealed that Abedian had made undisclosed political donations during the 2004 Gold Coast Council elections seeking favorable treatment. Following this revelation, his son Sahba declared that Sunland would stop contributing funds directly to individual councillors. In March of that year, Abedian met with James Packer, who subsequently acquired a 13.04% shareholding in Sunland and joined its Board of Directors.
Expansion into Dubai
Toward the end of 2006, Sunland extended its operations to Dubai with Soheil Abedian relocating there to oversee office establishment, design approvals, and project management. By November that year, Sunland had commenced development on White Bay—a planned community—as well as projects for a second Palazzo Versace Hotel and the D1 Tower, which was designed as a counterpart to the Q1 Tower.
A property transaction in Dubai during 2007 led to legal troubles when company executive David Brown was detained in 2009 and had his passport seized. Although initially denied by Abedian’s son that any investigation was underway, it later emerged that Sunland had misled the ASX on three occasions by denying such inquiries. In Victorian Supreme Court hearings, Abedian admitted that an investigation into bribery involving a senior executive was sensitive information but rejected accusations of deception; however, the presiding judge questioned his credibility. This scandal prompted major shareholder James Packer to divest his holdings and resign from Sunland’s board in August 2009. Subsequently, Abedian acknowledged advocating for company liquidation due to these repercussions. When criticized in 2010 for limited diversification beyond Dubai and Australia, he emphasized that assets in both regions were independently managed.
Abedian returned to Australia as chairman in June 2011 after Terry Jackman stepped down. Legal disputes related to the 2007 Dubai transaction persisted; Sunland accused Nakheel employees of providing false information. Yet in June 2012, Victoria’s Supreme Court dismissed Sunland’s claims as fabricated evidence involving forged documents and characterized Abedian as an uncooperative witness. The accused individuals remained imprisoned in Dubai. Early in 2013, Abedian refuted allegations against one executive while critics—including former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser—questioned Sunland’s refusal to comply with subpoenas demanding personnel return to Dubai. In November that year, Dubai courts acquitted those charged after judges found Sunland’s evidence contradicted facts.
During this period, Liberal National Party member Stuart Robert delivered a parliamentary speech authored by Sunland lobbyist Simone Holzapfel. It came to light that Abedian personally contributed $12,500 to the party prior to this speech and donated an additional $25,000 from personal and company sources between 2014 and 2015. The Labor Party condemned this as a "cash for comment" arrangement.
Recent developments
After returning to Australia in 2011, Abedian criticized candidates for the Gold Coast mayoralty for focusing more on the Commonwealth Games than on advancing Surfers Paradise, emphasizing concerns about safety and the local economy. He characterized the city center as "dead," attributing developers' bankruptcies to council inaction. Mayor Ron Clarke dismissed these claims, pointing out that Abedian had been away from the city for an extended period.
In 2012, Sunland hosted a fundraising event for the Liberal National Party at the Palazzo Versace Hotel. The following year, Abedian contributed $3,500 to the party’s Platinum Circle. Despite this, in 2015 he openly opposed the Tony Abbott government's tax policies, proposing no tax on incomes below $50,000 and a 75% tax rate on earnings exceeding $1 million.
Beginning in 2015, Sunland pursued approval to construct two towers of 44 stories each on the Gold Coast Spit. Abedian actively engaged with council members to secure favorable votes despite resistance from groups such as the Save Our Spit Association. This development became a focal point during the 2016 council elections, with scrutiny over donations made by Sunland to mayoral candidate Gary Baildon. At a 2016 event hosted by the TSS Foundation attended by council officials, Abedian criticized project opponents and warned that refusal of approval might lead to a substandard shopping center being built instead.
In 2016, an anti-corruption taskforce investigated potential connections between Liberal MP Stuart Robert and the towers project after Sunland’s lobbyist made donations to a party fundraising group used by Robert to support council candidates. Media coverage emphasized Abedian’s personal contributions to the Liberal Party prior to Robert’s advocacy on behalf of the development.
In 2017, Abedian publicly condemned delays by the Queensland Labor government in approving the project, urging elected officials to put public welfare above partisan interests.
Following legislation enacted in October 2018 that prohibited political donations from property developers, concerns emerged in 2019 regarding Abedian’s donations to a charity overseen by the Gold Coast Mayoress. Previous accusations surfaced alleging that Sunland’s General Manager threatened to withhold funding unless there was cooperation from council officials; these claims were denied. That year, councilor Hermann Vorster reported a conflict of interest involving Abedian and subsequently became subject to public criticism from him.
In 2020, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate presented Abedian with the keys to the city. Later that year in December, Sunland announced intentions to divest assets over three years to return capital to shareholders—potentially yielding Abedian approximately $130 million—and hinted at either privatization or cessation of company operations. By early 2021, one property was sold to Arium Group—an entity associated with Abedian and his son Sahba—and reports indicated Abedian was pursuing private real estate ventures in Miami through Pacific Development Corporation alongside his children.
In June 2021, Abedian put his penthouse residence in the Lumiere tower—his home for fifteen years—on the market as he planned to relocate within another Sunland development. That same month, he was awarded an Order of Australia Medal recognizing his contributions to community and property development. By October 2021, Sunland completed sale of its final major project and announced plans to wind down operations by 2023; when asked about future direction, Abedian refrained from commenting:
“What will happen in the future we cannot talk about until we finish this chapter and hopefully another chapter will begin,”
Philanthropy
As a follower of the Baháʼí Faith, Abedian actively participates in the Spiritual Assembly of the Gold Coast and has publicly discussed his religious beliefs. He collaborates with the Rays of Light Foundation, an organization inspired by Baháʼí principles, operating in Papua New Guinea.
Among his charitable contributions is a significant gift made in 2011 to Bond University, which resulted in the creation of the Soheil Abedian School of Architecture. In 2012, he launched the Abedian Foundation and, together with his wife Anne, introduced a scholarship at Griffith University in 2016. Griffith University honored him with an Honorary Doctorate in 2018. In 2020, he assumed the role of chairman for the nonprofit organization Serving Our People Inc.
Family
Abedian's son, Sahba (born 1978), began his career at Sunland Group as company secretary in 1998, spearheaded expansion efforts into Victoria in 2000, and ascended to sole managing director by 2006. Sahba entered into marriage with Nava Moghbelpour in 2014 and holds a prominent position within the Baháʼí community.
His daughter Mona is married to property developer Riaz Rezvani, who was involved in a widely reported property-related event in 2019.
Soheil Abedian is married to Anne Jamieson and has a stepson named Tom Jamieson. Ownership of the Australian Residential Corporation is shared among Soheil, Sahba, Mona, Tom, and their nephew Khian.