Melbourne crypto billionaire Ed Craven gives $10,000 tip to waitress at Gilson in South Yarra
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The mystery diner who tipped a surprised waitress $10,000 has been revealed as Australia’s youngest billionaire.
Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Ed Craven, 27, and three friends enjoyed a $500 steak and pasta meal at hip city center eatery Gilson’s in South Yarra, Melbourne on Saturday.
The group was so impressed with head waitress Lauren’s service that Mr. Craven gave a generous $10,000 tip when he paid the bill.
He insisted that the college student receive 70 percent after the waitress told him that tips were shared among the restaurant’s 23 employees.
Regarded as Australia’s youngest billionaire, 27-year-old Mr. Craven made his fortune as a co-founder of online casino Enterprisestake.com and now boasts an impressive portfolio of properties.
The mystery diner who gave the massive $10,000 tip has been identified as Australia’s youngest billionaire, Ed Craven (pictured)
The site sees an average of $400 million wagered in the form of bets every day, according to statistics recently provided to Australian magazine The Weekend.
Craven and co-founder Bijan Tehrani were on track to make $1 billion in profit by the end of 2022.
The little-known businessman bought two mansions in the luxurious suburb of Toorak last August, including an $88m ‘ghost mansion’ believed to be the second most expensive home in Australia.
The 7,200-square-meter property was last sold for $5 million in 1991 to real estate developer David Yu, who had bought the property from then-Hoyts boss Leon Fink, who had half-built a French Revival-style mansion in the place.
Two months after purchasing the property, Mr. Craven threw a wild Halloween party at his new home.
The extravagant party was attended by 400 guests and included zombies and werewolves roaming the halls, a performance by an ‘international guest’, two bars with signature cocktails, catering, a make-up room with professional artists and a photo booth.
Lauren, a Melbourne student, was offered a whopping $10,000 tip while working as a waitress, but insisted some of the money should go to her colleagues. Ended up with $7000
Lauren was the head waitress for Ed Craven and friends at Gilson’s in Melbourne’s South Yarra on Saturday afternoon.
Craven bought another luxury mansion in Toorak for $38 million in early 2022.
The sale price was more than triple what the previous owner paid for the house in 2018
The luxury mansion spans 2,000 square meters and has a three-car garage, four bedrooms and as many bathrooms.
It also features a swimming pool, a curved staircase, a contemporary chandelier from a double-height ceiling, and an oak study.
About 50 ball lights hang from the dining room ceiling.
Craven previously spent on a luxury four-bedroom unit in Southbank’s Prima Towers for $12.5 million.
That same year in 2021, he also purchased a three-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse in Fitzroy North for $1.98 million, the heralding sun informed.
Ed Craven bought an $88m ‘ghost mansion’ in Toorak six months ago, believed to be the second most expensive home in Australia.
Mr. Craven had already bought another mansion in the suburb just five months ago (entrance to $88 million mansion shown)
Lauren previously revealed that Mr. Craven said he would only leave a tip if she got 70 percent, or $7,000.
Other staff said she burst into tears when she realized how much she had been given.
“I made them say the number out loud because I thought ‘what if I got too excited and stupidly read an extra zero or something? herald sun.
The rest of the staff received $3,000 to share – $136 each.
Gilson’s is a trendy Italian restaurant frequented by social media models, influencers, and reality TV stars.
Restaurant staff were “in shock” for half an hour after the group left, said another waitress who worked Saturday, also named Lauren.
“Lauren is a great bartender and it’s a wealthy area, that has to be taken into account,” she said.
‘We have clients with high purchasing power and restaurants with hats next door. And the tipper was a successful businessman.
She said that the table that was tipped so extravagantly was a walk-in group and not regular customers.
They spent a total of $500 on steak and pasta and a drink each.
Lauren, who received the large tip, cut hours from part-time at the restaurant after receiving the cash, so she could spend more time on her studies, the staff said.
He described Gilson’s service staff as “a very close family” in which all staff would want to share at least some of their advice.
Lauren admitted that she had to ask the businessman to repeat the advice out loud in case she misheard it.
Restaurant staff were ‘in shock’ for half an hour after Ed Craven and friends left.
Gilson’s owner, Jamie McBride, was delighted that his staff was getting additional recognition.
“(It’s) very nice, it makes the team feel really special when they’re recognized, especially when nobody expects that,” he said.
The notice produced good news for Mr. McBride, who in 2021 was fined $204,000 for underpaying staff.
A Fair Labor Investigation found that Gilson underpaid vulnerable international visa holders by $53,850 in six months from December 2017 to July 2018.