Geoffrey Edelsten dies in Melbourne apartment aged 78
Controversial businessman Geoffrey Edelsten has died in Melbourne aged 78.
Mr Edelsten died in his St Kilda apartment on Friday afternoon and his death is not believed to be suspicious, The Herald Sun reported.
Mr Edelsten was a medical entrepreneur but he is perhaps best known for his flamboyant lifestyle, colourful clothing, sports cars and ownership of the Sydney Swans, which he purchased in 1985.
He became, by his own description, a "white knight" of the Swans as they faced dire financial pressure and concerns they couldn't survive. His ownership of the Swans wasn't his only attachment to the AFL as he was awarded life membership with the Carlton Football Club in 2013.
Mr Edelsten owned mansions, helicopters and a fleet of expensive cars with licence plates emblazoned with "macho", "spunky" and "sexy".
Mr Edelsten also made headlines across Australia with his three marriages. In in the '80s he married model Leanne Nesbitt but they divorced after three years.
In 2009, Mr Edelsten married fitness instructor Brynne Gordon, then aged 25, in a lavish ceremony at Crown Casino in Melbourne.
They divorced in 2014 before Mr Edelsten married Gabi Grecko in 2015 who was 46 years his junior.
Never far away from the spotlight, Mr Edelsten was also responsible for establishing a number of 24-hour bulk-billed medical centres dubbed "super clinics". They featured grand pianos and chandeliers in the waiting rooms.
Born in Carlton to Jewish migrant parents, he studied at the University of Melbourne, graduating in 1966.
After working as a resident at the Royal Melbourne Hospital he became a GP, and with a colleague established a practice in Sydney's eastern suburbs.
He spent time in jail, found guilty in 1990 of soliciting a well known hit-man, Christopher Dale Flannery, to assault a former patient.
Mr Edelsten claimed bankruptcy in both Australia and the United States in 2014, citing a number of bad business deals including "splurging" millions on ghetto estates going cheap during the US mortgage crisis.
Victoria Police confirmed a report would be prepared for the coroner following the discovery of a man's body in a St Kilda Road apartment on Friday afternoon. The death is not being treated as suspicious.
with AAP
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