One of Australia's richest men is hauled before court - billionaire allegedly refused to pay a $198 parking ticket for leaving his $500,000 Aston Martin in a loading zone

By WAYNE FLOWER, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 10:57, 21 July 2026 | Updated: 11:09, 21 July 2026 Adrian Portelli's refusal to pay a parking fine has landed the billionaire in court more than a year after the alleged infraction.  Portelli had been expected to appear in the Wonthaggi Magistrates' Court in Victoria's east on Tuesday.  Court documents alleged Portelli's Aston Martin wagon was parked in a loading zone on Thompson Avenue in Cowes, on Phillip Island, at 2.07pm on New Year's Day last year.  The vehicle, worth close to half-a-million dollars, was slapped with a $198 ticket, which prosecutors acting for the Bass Coast Shire Council claimed went unpaid.  A penalty reminder was sent to him on March 6, including a penalty charge of $28.40 and then a final notice on September 24.  When the fine remained unpaid, the matter was listed before the court.  Court documents stated the council wanted $420.20 out of the billionaire to over the administrative costs.   Journalists from across Victoria tuned into the hearing on Tuesday, which ended with the council prosecutor withdrawing the matter.  The Aston Martin was allegedly parked in a loading zone. Portelli posted this image of it to Instagram in 2023  Adrian Portelli is a well known billionaire from Melbourne  No reason was provided for the withdrawal and Daily Mail does not suggest Portelli committed the offence, just that it came before the court.  The vehicle is the same one that Portelli gifted to his then pregnant partner as a 'push present' in 2023. 'Push prezzie well deserved for putting up with me,' Portelli posted on Instagram at the time. His partner was standing beside the expensive white Aston Martin SUV with her back to the camera. Thompson Avenue had been the same street where Portelli paid $15.03 million to buy all five houses at auction on that year's reality renovation TV show The Block.  Portelli, a Young Rich Lister worth $1.41 billion after founding LMCT+, an online subscription-based club offering shopping discounts and giveaways of cars and houses, ended up paying $15.03 million to buy all five houses at the TV show's 2024 auction. The billionaire listed all five homes for sale as a compound last June, but after failing to sell, he announced he would give them away to five winners. He gave them away in November.