This ultra-chic beach house is registered in the name of Kevin Rudd’s wife, Theresa Rein
There are calls for former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to be stripped of his role as US ambassador after he was shamefully roasted by US President Donald Trump.
But it’s not all bad: Rudd, described by Opposition Sussan Ley as the ‘elephant in the room’, has a soft – and luxurious place – to fall if he gets the sack.
And it’s a luxury beach house in Queensland’s Sunshine Beach.
Publicly available property records show his entrepreneur wife, Therese Rein, is listed as the owner of the Seaview Terrace residence, which offers uninterrupted ocean views.
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The $17 million Sunshine Beach residence is owned by Therese Rein, wife of US Ambassador Kevin Rudd
She bought the striking modern home for a whopping $17 million in May 2020, at the start of the Covid-19 real estate boom.
It was briefly listed in January 2021 for $20 million.
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Before Australia’s first family bought the property – Rudd was Australia’s 26th Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010 – it was owned by tennis champion Pat Rafter.
Rudd was appointed as Australia’s US ambassador in 2023, but caused a stir before being appointed to the role with some testy social media posts about Trump.
Those comments haunted Rudd during a conversation at the White House on Monday.
The US president lashed out at the former prime minister after being asked about Mr Rudd’s previous social media posts in which he branded Mr Trump “the most destructive president in history” and a “traitor to the West”.
Mr Trump, who previously called Mr Rudd “nasty” over the comments, said he was unaware of the messages.
“I don’t know anything about him. If he said bad things, he might want to apologize,” Trump said.
Trump turned to Mr Albanese and asked: “Did the ambassador say anything about me… don’t tell me.”
“Where is he, does he still work for you?”
Kevin Rudd (left) was roasted by US President Donald Trump
In an awkward exchange, Mr Albanese hesitated before pointing at Mr Rudd, directly opposite the president, and saying: “He’s there”.
Members of the Trump administration, including Secretary of State for War Pete Hegseth, laughed as Mr Rudd tried to weasel his way out of the discussion, agreeing that he had made comments “before I took this position, Mr President”. Mr. Trump interrupted and told him, “I don’t like you either and I probably never will.”
Australian officials said that after Mr Rudd apologized, all was forgiven by the US president.
Members of the press heard Mr Rudd apologize to the president as reporters and cameras were removed from the room.
Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese, US President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd (2nd from right) speak to reporters ahead of a bilateral meeting in the White House Cabinet Room on October 20, 2025. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said Rudd’s position was now untenable.
“Kevin Rudd was really the elephant in the room and it’s a bit awkward, isn’t it,” she told Sky News.
“It took almost a year for this meeting to take place, and that was a failure by the ambassador.
“And if the ambassador is the punchline of the joke and the prime minister actually laughs at him, I think that tells us everything we need to know about the fact that it’s probably not reasonable for him to continue in this role.”
And if he gets the boot from the role, at least he’ll have some luxurious digs he can escape to to lick his wounds.
The Sunshine Beach residence has seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, a swimming pool and is located on an absolute beach block of 1031 m².
Inside the Seaview Terrace residence.
Sunshine Beach is a popular location for Australia’s wealthy, with homes owned by the likes of Peter and Patty Tighe (owners of champion racehorse Winx), Karen Greer, wife of Wilson Asset Management founder Geoff Wilson, and billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart.
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