Late Swarovski Billionaire’s Private Island Near Venice, Italy, Asks €24 Million

A private island near Venice, Italy, that was owned by an heir to the Swarovski crystal fortune is set to hit the market for the first time in 40 years with an asking price of €24 million (US$28.3 million), Mansion Global has learned.

Isola Santa Cristina is in the northern part of the Venetian Lagoon, about a 40-minute boat ride from Venice. Drawn to the area’s fishing culture, Gernot Langes-Swarovski, the great-grandson of Swarovski founder Daniel Swarovski, acquired the island in 1986, according to Venice Sotheby’s International Realty, which is marketing the property.

The 72-acre island became a retreat for Gernot Langes-Swarovski, who valued sustainability and nature and maintained it with respect for those concerns.

In fact, the island’s fish farming has been redeveloped in collaboration with Venice’s Ca’ Foscari University, according to Sotheby’s International Realty.

“Gernot Langes-Swarovski’s passion for agriculture, heritage and ecology made his stewardship of Isola Santa Cristina extremely personal, forging relationships with local centres of excellence, such as Ca’ Foscari University, which shared his passion and view,” said Dr Christoph Völk, chair of the trustees of SEGNAL Privatstiftung, the private family trust selling the island.

Today, the island’s landscape still includes much of Langes-Swarovski’s additions: apricot and plum orchards; an olive grove, roughly 7 acres of vineyards producing Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet grapes; a vegetable garden; and beehives that produce organic salt marsh honey.

In addition to being involved in the family business, Gernot Langes-Swarovski co-founded business jet operator Tyrolean Jet Services. In 2014, Forbes estimated he had a net worth of $1.3 billion. He died in 2021 at the age of 77.

After his death, ownership of the island was transferred into a family trust, and the property was previously operated by Gernot Langes-Swarovski’s stepson René Deutsch and his wife, Sandra, as a luxury retreat with “a limited number of bookings per year,” according to the island’s website.

The historic villa spans 9,250 square feet across four floors, and includes nine bedrooms, nine bathrooms, two reception rooms, a formal dining room and a chef’s kitchen, plus air conditioning throughout. A crystal chandelier remains in the villa as a nod to Langes-Swarovski’s stewardship of the island.

Outdoor features include a veranda with a large dining space and an open-fire rotisserie and grill; an altana, a traditional Venetian roof terrace; and a heated saltwater pool. A path from the villa leads down to a dock and boat house, and there’s also a mooring for up to five boats.

Across a pond from the main house, there’s a 6,080-square-foot farmhouse with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a yoga studio, as well as a self-contained apartment, also with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen.

The family trust has continued to invest in the island in keeping with Langes-Swarovski’s eco-friendly ideals, according to information provided by the brokerage.

Most recently, they’ve planned the installation of a new €2 million-plus Centro Tecnologico, a facility that will support the island’s technical services, water management and storage of agricultural equipment.

“The time is now right for stewardship of Isola Santa Cristina to pass to a new custodian,” Völk said, “who appreciates the uniqueness of the location and whose passion for ecology and the lagoon will ensure its future.”

Australia’s major CBD office markets are recording some of their strongest rental growth since the pandemic, with businesses increasingly prioritising premium office space despite elevated geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

Knight Frank’s Australian Office Indicators Q1 2026 report found net effective rents in Sydney and Melbourne CBDs rose at their fastest annual pace since COVID-19, increasing 10.2 per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively over the 12 months to March.

Brisbane posted the strongest growth nationally, with net effective rents climbing 11.7 per cent over the same period.

The report points to a widening divide between prime CBD office towers and secondary office stock, as occupiers increasingly focus on quality, location and workplace amenity when making leasing decisions.

Knight Frank Senior Economist, Research & Consulting Alistair Read said demand remained heavily concentrated in premium assets within core CBD precincts, helping drive stronger rental growth in top-tier buildings.

“Occupier demand continues to be heavily concentrated in the most desirable CBD precincts and the highest-quality buildings, accelerating a sharp divergence between core and non-core markets,” Mr Read said.

According to the report, Sydney’s Core precinct and Melbourne’s Eastern Core significantly outperformed broader CBD markets over the past year.

“In Sydney’s Core precinct and Melbourne’s Eastern Core, net effective rents surged 14.3% and 16.1% over the past year, significantly outperforming the rest-of-CBD precincts,” Mr Read said.

The rental gap between prime and non-prime office locations has also continued to widen sharply.

“As a result, core CBD rents are now 54% higher than non-core locations in Sydney and 93% higher in Melbourne, highlighting the growing premium placed on amenity, accessibility and workplace quality,” he said.

Knight Frank said the strong rental growth across the major CBDs was being underpinned by a limited supply pipeline, with few new office developments expected to be delivered in the near term.

Mr Read said subdued construction activity was likely to support ongoing rental growth and tighter vacancy rates over the medium term, particularly for premium office towers.

“The combination of sustained demand and declining levels of new development will aid ongoing prime rental growth and lower vacancy rates over the medium term, particularly for best-in-class assets,” he said.

The report noted that current economic conditions were making new office developments increasingly difficult to justify financially.

“Economic rents remain well above expected market rents, making the construction of new office towers largely unviable, and concentrating tenant demand into existing buildings,” Mr Read said.

While suburban office markets generally remained subdued compared with CBDs, Melbourne’s Southbank precinct was identified as a relative outperformer, recording annual net effective rental growth of 2.7 per cent.

The report comes as broader Asia-Pacific office markets continue to stabilise following several years of disruption linked to hybrid work trends, inflation and rising interest rates.

Knight Frank’s separate Asia-Pacific Q1 2026 Office Highlights report found Sydney and Brisbane were among the strongest-performing office rental markets in the region, behind only Bengaluru and Tokyo for annual prime net face rental growth.

The Asia-Pacific report also found 18 of the 24 cities monitored across the region recorded stable or increasing rents in the first quarter of 2026, even as geopolitical uncertainty intensified following escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Late Swarovski Billionaire’s Private Island Near Venice, Italy, Asks €24 Million

A family trust for Gernot Langes-Swarovski, great-grandson of the crystal company’s founder, is selling the 72-acre Isola Santa Cristina.

Office rents in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are climbing at their fastest pace since the pandemic as tenants compete for premium CBD space amid tightening supply.