Kim Dotcom, centre, welcomed guests with bubbly. Photo / Supplied
Kim Dotcom, centre, welcomed guests with bubbly. Photo / Supplied
Kim Dotcom surprised hundreds of visitors at his mansion yesterday by welcoming them with a glass of bubbly and photo opportunities.
More than 800 people bought $100 "golden tickets" to tour the $30 million property and other local mansions as part of the Christmas in Coatesville fundraiser. Guests were notallowed inside but they used the 15-minute opportunity to peer through windows and tour the immaculate gardens.
Auckland visitor Wendy Hill, 42, said she was impressed with a large fish tank in his kitchen and the children's playroom.
"I think if that was in my kitchen I'd burn things just constantly staring at it," Hill said.
Coatesville resident Victoria Tumahai, 65, said no one had been expecting to meet the German multi-millionaire.
"Dotcom came out and he was very nice," Tumahai said. "One of the ladies looked like his mother, so he took photos of her which he is gong to send to his mother."
The court has allowed Dotcom, wife Mona and their children to return to live at the rented Coatesville property while he fights a bid to extradite him to the United States to face breach of copyright charges.
Christmas in Coatesville event manager Bridgette Jackson hoped the event would raise $100,000 - 90 per cent would go to Coatesville School and 10 per cent to the Gynaecological Cancer Foundation.
