The weddings that unite Sydney’s most powerful families
O’Neil has four children with his wife Charlotte (a relative of Baron Glenconner or Colin Tennant, who gave Princess Margaret four acres of his private island of Mustique as a wedding gift).
Three of them have married into other wealthy families in Sydney. Only the youngest son, Toby, remains unmarried, but there is still time; his father, now in his 80s, was a highly qualified bachelor until he was 50.
In 2018, the eldest O’Neil son Ned married Deborah Symond, daughter of his father’s pal, Aussie Home Loans founder John, and his first wife Kerrie Fox (Symonds Snr later married Amber Keating, ex-wife of former Prime Minister’s son Patrick ). ).
Deborah Symond made headlines on Sydney’s society pages in 2018 when she married Ned O’Neil in a lavish ceremony on Hamilton Island.Credit: Instagram
Symond O’Neil is the founder of the fashion company Mode Sportif and the commander of around 43,000 Instagram followers. Their celebrations lasted three days at the exclusive Qualia Resort on Hamilton Island, where the bride wore a Paris-tailored Christian Dior dusty rose haute couture gown that was reportedly worth $200,000.
The marriage of the second oldest Jakes to Louise of the Hay house was held at the Carthona Mansion in Darling Point last year and the bridesmaids included the third Hay child, Simmie, Deborah Symond O’Neil and O’Neil’s cousin, the It- Girl Hermine Underwood (all of whom attended expensive high school in the eastern suburbs of Ascham).
O’Neil’s only daughter, Poppy, married Anthony Tzaneros as part of a New York City Met Gala event in October 2021. The Rockpool reception reportedly cost $10,000 per person. His clan is just as well-connected and wealthy, but even less conspicuous.
Anthony’s father Terry Tzaneros – originally from the Greek island of Lemnos – along with his son Arthur run the country’s largest privately owned freight logistics company, ACFS Port Logistics, with such success that the various branches of the Eastern family are worth at least US$100 million Dollars own real estate in the suburbs.
Poppy Tzaneros and Anthony Tzaneros.
Over the years, Tzaneros has been in the news for two reasons; real estate and politics. His most recent purchase came in 2021, when he and his wife Anne paid $38 million for a Point Piper waterfront mansion. His son Arthur made headlines in June this year after paying $61.5 million for a home on Bellevue Hill.
But just over a decade ago, Terry, a Labor donor, was mentioned in the herald after his company AGS arranged airline tickets and accommodation in Ghana for former MP Joe Tripodi – with whom he sat in a task force when Tripodi was ports minister – and another man who had plans to buy gold from the African country and resell it there Australia.
The plan was canceled at the last minute by Tripodi, who was later found by the Corruption Inspectorate for corrupt conduct related to another matter.
Tzaneros was also drawn into the 2019 NSW election campaign when it was revealed that then-Labor leader Michael Daley had voted in favor of a $3.1 million port development to be run by Tzaneros’ companies almost 20 years earlier should. The same article in the Daily Telegraph identified companies associated with the shipping magnate who had made large donations to the Labor Party both at Randwick Council and at the state level.
Steffanie Roberts and Michael Tzaneros.Credit: Instagram
The marriages from the house of Tzaneros are similar to those of a well-connected European royal court. Son Michael married model Steffanie Roberts (110,000 Instagram followers) in Santorini after reportedly gifting her a $400,000 Cartier ring. Daughter Barbara married property magnate Michael Coombes, whose mother is a member of the Paspaley pearl family, while another daughter, Maree, married Peter Andrews of the Andrews family, whose patriarch, also Peter, founded Andrews Meat in 1960 (and recently sold a Vaucluse). Mansion for $34.5 million).
Another very private couple whose daughters have become a topic of discussion on social media are Harry and Jilla Vakili. Originally from Iran, they have built their fortunes in the computer business, own a sprawling estate in Castlecrag and are involved in real estate development. Little is known about either of these, apart from Harry’s statement on the mcrIT company’s website that he considers his company a fifth child, that he has a master’s degree in computer engineering, and that he enjoys cycling, soccer and indoor climbing .
Her daughters, however, are a different story. Hoda, the eldest – once dubbed the ‘Persian princess’ in the press – married a racing king 12 years ago in Italy when she married Tom Waterhouse, the son of bookie Robbie and trainer Gai. They had known each other since college when he was studying commerce and she was studying architecture.
Initially there was no romance – he hired her to help him with the races and they became friends – but eventually after she studied in Paris they became a thing together.
Hoda Vikali marries Tom Waterhouse.
Her younger sister, Rey, is a Yale and Stanford graduate who once held the coveted job of Assistant to the United States Fashion Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and is now Managing Director of the Australian office of a company that brings brands, social media creators and influencers together.
Last month, her marriage to chicken heir Johnny in the Italian city of Taormina – where her sister’s wedding also took place – united the House of Vakili and the House of Ingham.
Videos and photos of her colorful reception, handsome groom and glamorous guests including her sister-in-law Kate Waterhouse were shared with Vakili’s 49,300 followers. But there were only brief glimpses of her reclusive parents.
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