Pratt tops the Financial Review Rich List for the first time since 2009, driven by the stellar growth of his Pratt Industries cardboard box manufacturing and recyling business in the United States. Pratt, who is executive chairman of Pratt Industries and the cardboard box and recycling giant Visy in Australia, took over the US business in 1991. He has overseen the rapid growth of Pratt Industries in America, where it now employs 7000 people. Pratt inherited the helm of Visy Industries from his late father Richard in 2009 and now spends more time in Australia, where his sisters Heloise Pratt and Fiona Geminder also have an ownership stake in Visy.
Lowy is close to celebrating the 60th anniversary of the opening of his fi rst shopping centre, in the Sydney suburb of Blacktown, in 1958. Back then, Lowy operated with his late co-founder John Saunders, but Westfield is now firmly under the control of himself and his three sons. Lowy remains chairman of Westfield Corp, which owns malls in the US and UK, but stepped down from the same role in the Australian mall business, Scentre Group, in May 2016. Sons Steven, who succeeded Lowy as chairman of Football Federation Australia, and Peter are joint-CEOs of Westfield, while David runs the private Lowy Family Group investment arm.
Gandel’s wealth continues to rise as the value of his crown jewel, Melbourne’s Chadstone shopping centre, increases. Chadstone is the largest mall in the southern hemisphere and has undergone a $622 million redevelopment that includes a large retail component and office and hotel space. Chadstone has proven to be one of the best deals by any Rich List member, with Gandel purchasing the centre in 1983. He sold out of the clothing group Sussan in the same decade, having joined what was then his parents’ business at the age of 19. Last September, Gandel sold his $500 million stake in the listed Charter Hall Group.
Hui Wing Mau has diversified his portfolio this year, acquiring a 16.9 per cent stake in Hong Kong wealth management and investment group Mason Financial Holdings. But most of his wealth is derived from Hong Kong-listed Shimao Property, which joined with B1 Group last November to purchase office building Avaya House in North Ryde, Sydney, for $118 million. Hui has Australian citizenship after studying for an MBA at the University of South Australia in the early 1990s. He later returned to China and made his fortune from the Shanghai and Beijing property booms. Shimao has several large projects planned or under way throughout China.
Source: Financial Review | Research: John Stensholt
Data journalist: Edmund Tadros | Infographic: Les Hewitt
It has been a tumultuous year for Packer, who is back on the Crown Resorts board after a break of about 12 months. Packer is Crown’s biggest shareholder and driving force, but has been hit hard by the arrest of 15 Crown employees in China last year as part of a Chinese government crackdown on the promotion of gambling. Packer’s latest strategy for the casino giant is selling out of its Melco Crown joint venture in Macau to concentrate on its Australian business, which includes a casino and hotel project at Sydney’s Barangaroo. Crown is also building Melbourne’s biggest apartment tower in the Victorian capital. Earlier in the year, Packer sold off Pretty Girl fashion and his stake in movie production company RatPac.
Glasenberg’s 8.4 per cent stake in the world’s biggest commodity trader, Glencore, has surged in value over the past 12 months after a tough few years. The long-serving Glencore chief executive has overseen a strategy that has included aggressively paying off debt and selling some assets. The result is Glencore is now poised for growth and last December moved to take a large stake in Russian oil firm Rosneft. South African-born Glasenberg joined Glencore, then called Marc Rich & Co, in 1984 and moved to Australia two years later to head the Asian coal commodity division. He took out Australian citizenship in that time but now lives in Switzerland.
It has been a year of constant movement for Rinehart, including an increase in production at her huge Hope Downs iron ore mine, pumping $400 million into a UK phosphate mine and buying the S. Kidman & Co cattle empire. The billionaire also found time to attend the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in her capacity as sponsor of four sports. But, less happily, Rinehart remains locked in a legal dispute with her eldest children over allegations Hancock Prospecting failed to pay dividends to the family trust. Hancock Prospecting was established by Rinehart’s late father, Lang Hancock, who pegged vast mining areas of Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
Triguboff’s Meriton property development group dominates the Sydney skyline. His ubiquitous brand has erected towers throughout the city’s CBD, and there are more under construction. Meriton sold about $1.2 billion worth of apartments in 2016 and is on track to settle and complete additional units this year. Triguboff, who remains managing director, is also keeping apartments for renting out, growing that part of his portfolio from about $250 million worth of rentals to $370 million in the past 12 months. He famously carries little debt after a run-in with the banks in the 1970s and such is the strength of the Meriton balance sheet, he provides finance to some buyers.
Fortescue Metal Group’s hard-fought status as the world’s lowest-cost iron ore producer has helped Forrest double his wealth in the past 12 months. Now the chairman of FMG, Forrest still holds a big stake in the company he founded in 2003. He has overseen its growth into Australia’s “third force” in mining after previous stints as a stockbroker and chief executive of Anaconda Nickel. Forrest also has extensive pastoral investments that include the Harvey Beef and Harvey Road Dairy businesses and has in recent years devoted considerable time and effort to opposing modern slavery across the world via the Walk Free Foundation.
The oldest billionaire on the Rich List has had a bumper 12 months. Perron Investments made a $244 million net profit in 2016 and has net assets of about $2.6 billion. The mix includes office blocks in Perth and Sydney, Melbourne shopping centres and a share in North Queensland Airports. The company receives iron ore royalties from Hancock Prospecting and Wright Prospecting, its founder having had the foresight to back Lang Hancock and Peter Wright in 1959 with a £500 loan. Perron Investments has also owned the West Australian distributorship for Toyota since the 1960s. He has come a long way since the days when he owned milk bars, a taxi service and then an earth-moving company.