Ever wondered how someone with a net worth of $28 billion spends their money?

In a prime spot, metres from the golden sand of Surfers Paradise beach, is an empty parcel of land that’s been oddly vacant for decades.

Sitting awkwardly among the high-rises on the Esplanade in bustling Surfers Paradise, the 7558sq m site is flat and empty.

It could be used for accommodation, restaurants or shops, but for two decades, its wealthy owner has simply sat on it, doing nothing to develop it.

For years it’s been a source of bemusement on the Gold Coast — a sizeable piece of prime real estate, with great potential, in one of Australia’s biggest tourist towns.

But the $30 million site is apparently not that interesting to the wealthy owner that bought it back in 1997 — and that wealthy owner is reported to be an arm of the Brunei Government.

Brunei’s draconian new penal code, which was enforced amid global outrage last week, has cast a spotlight on the Asian nation’s extravagantly wealthy leader, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, and his many lucrative overseas properties.

The seemingly forgotten site at 3241 Gold Coast Highway could be one of the most puzzling purchases linked to the Sultan.

The property is now worth $30 million, according to a Gold Coast Bulletin report in October — double the price an arm of the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) paid for it 22 years ago.

Dermajaya Properties (Southern Pacific) Sdn Bhd paid $15 million for the land in 1997, according to the Bulletin. About six years ago the site was transferred to a company called Sejahtera Two (Australia) Pty Ltd.

Brisbane’s Royal on the Park Hotel is another Australian asset of the government-run BIA. It’s owned by a company called Sejahtera One (Australia) Pty Ltd. Though the Brunei Government is cagey about its affiliations with these properties, company records show Sejahtera One has only one shareholder — BIA.

While the Royal on the Park operates as a hotel, the Surfers Paradise site is literally a waste of space.

The front of the L-shaped property, which sits on the Esplanade, is grassed over but it’s unclear who tends the lawn. At the back, where the site reaches Surfers Paradise Boulevard, it’s partially used as a carpark.

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate wouldn’t be drawn on what he’d like to see done with the site, but in a statement to news.com.au, his office said it would “continue to liaise with the Sultan of Brunei with a view to seeing this property best utilised for the benefit of the Gold Coast community”.

In previous years, Mr Tate has taken a proactive steps towards having action taken on the empty plot.

In 2012 the mayor reportedly sent a “use it or lose it” ultimatum to the Sultan, suggesting he donate the land, then worth $15 million, to the city.

“I think he’s had long enough to do something with it,” Mr Tate told The Australian at the time.

“How about bequeathing it to the council and I’ll dedicate the park in his honour? It’s a win for him. The Sultan has vast holdings around the world so he probably doesn’t even know he owns it.”

The Australian Government has rules about foreign buyers starting “continuous substantial construction” within two years of buying vacant residential land.

In a statement to news.com.au, the Foreign Investment Review Board said it “cannot comment on the application of the foreign investment arrangements as they apply or could apply to particular cases”.

While the future is uncertain for the Brunei-linked property in the heart of Surfers Paradise, luxury hotels owned by Sultan Hassanal around the world are taking a hit.

Since the Sultan announced he would enforce a strict code of sharia law in his oil-rich nation — including punishing homosexuality with death by stoning, and amputations for theft — there have been proposed boycotts of the sultan’s hotels worldwide, including The Dorchester in London and the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.

Sultan Hassanal, 72, who is the world’s second-longest serving royal behind Elizabeth II, is also one of the world’s richest men, with a reported personal wealth of $27.7 billion.