Ash Tavakoli, Malouf cousins, Peter Manettas among money makers
From real estate to waste management, some of Sydney’s most successful businesses are credited to people who migrated to Australia decades ago. Now some of their rich offspring are carving out successful careers in their own right or following in their parents’ footsteps. WATCH THE VIDEO
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Move over the Shahs of Dubai and step aside those Crazy Rich Asians – Sydney’s very own uber rich cultural cliques are a reality TV series just waiting to happen.
With instantly recognisable surnames and parents considered among Australia’s richest movers and shakers – it’s this second generation of uber rich who are forging a name for themselves.
Whether it’s cashing in on their parent’s spoils or having inherited their work ethic – Sydney’s rich offspring are carving out successful careers in their own right.
One thing that is clear, however, is that these heirs often know (or marry) one another and like to stick together.
NAME: Ash Tavakoli
FAMILY NATIONALITY: Persian/Australian.
BIO: Brother of renowned Eastern Suburbs plastic surgeon Dr Kourosh Tavakoli, Ash (in his 30s) has made his money on the down-low, unlike his flashy brother.
The wealthy entrepreneur quietly finances various residential developments around Sydney’s eastern, southern and northern suburbs while allowing other people to front them.
Tavakoli, who is married to Persian American Samira Jay, lives on New Beach Road, Darling Point in a penthouse and caused quite a stir when he gutted and redeveloped the apartment.
His stunning wife was revealed as the buyer of a $30 million knock down in Sydney’s Rose Bay in 2019.
LIKES: Privacy
NAME: Michael Coombes
FAMILY NATIONALITY: Greek
BIO: The CEO of Coombes Property Group, Michael Coombes is behind some of the largest privately owned developments around Sydney (including the George Street Cinema Precinct development).
Son of Peter and Ariane (who is a member of the famed Paspaley Pearls family, Michael is married to one of Sydney’s most-popular socialites and philanthropists, Barbara Coombes, who is part of the wealthy and well-known Greek Tzaneros family.
LIKES: The jet-set lifestyle.
NAME: Stephanie Malouf
FAMILY NATIONALITY: Lebanese / Greek
BIO: Daughter of the doyen of Sydney real estate Bill Malouf (considered one of the most wealthy and powerful estate agents in Sydney), Stephanie has moved away from the family business (her brother is top Eastern Suburbs real estate agent David Malouf) to forge a successful nutrition and mindset practice in Rose Bay – Stephanie Malouf Nutrition.
Stephanie is considered the go to nutritionist and weight loss expert in the Eastern Suburbs.
Her social circle includes Poppy O’Neil who was set to be one of her bridesmaids along with second cousin Ellie Malouf (daughter of waste management entrepreneur Ian Malouf) in her upcoming wedding in Greece to Daniel Sorridimi this July. The wedding has since been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
LIKES: Pilates at Vive Active Double Bay, dining at Sydney’s top restaurants including her fiancés establishment; Blackwood Pantry and afternoons on the harbour with family and friends.
NAME: Ellie Malouf
FAMILY NATIONALITY: Lebanese
BIO: Second cousin of Stephanie Malouf and daughter of “king of the dumpsters” and “Australia's richest garbo” – Dial a Dump industries founder Ian Malouf, Ellie has clearly adopted her father’s renowned business acumen.
The 24-year-old is global account manager for her father’s company Ahoy Club – an online platform for yacht charter bookings.
Given her father (who sold his company to Bingo industries for $A578 million in 2019) owns $40m 52m superyacht Mischief (which is equipped with Dom Perignon champagne on tap, a jacuzzi on the roof and six bedrooms below) it’s safe to say the heiress knows what she’s talking about.
Her dad just added another a new, bigger super yacht to his name, recently buying the new 238 foot Coral Ocean for $60 million which will also be available to rent from Ahoy
But there are no handouts for Ellie and her four siblings – each having to earn their own keep.
Ellie’s 22-year-old brother Ed works at Bingo, her younger sister Lara works for Ahoy, while her younger twin brothers Jack and Max attend Geelong Grammar School’s Timbertop campus.
“With your kids coming through, you want the best for them,” her dad Ian told The Australian earlier this year.
“But they all get the same words on their 18th birthday; Your money is your freedom’. And if you translate that back, my money is not their freedom. If they want to do their own thing and have their own money and not be a trust fund kid, then they are going to have to work for it.”
LIKES: Long lunches and travelling the world.
NAME: Jin Lin
FAMILY NATIONALITY: Chinese
BIO: Jin Lin is the hardworking son of Chinese property mogul, Yilin, who is the head of Shanghai Based ShenLong which has developed 30 million sq/m of Property in Shanghai.
Despite being in his early 30s, Jin Lin, the Group Managing Director of Aqualand, has done the hard yards since immigrating to Australia 16 years ago and is in the process of developing a home in Vaucluse which he bought in 2016 for $52 million.
LIKES: The Arts, namely The Australian Ballet, Sculptures by the Sea and The Art Gallery of NSW.
NAME: Poppy, Ned, Jake and Toby O’Neil
FAMILY NATIONALITY: Scottish
BIO: It might be a common surname, however everyone on the Eastern Suburbs knows who you’re talking about when you say “The O’Neils”.
Their parents made their fortune from the boating industry – father Denis is a superyacht broker and owner of Rose Bay Marina and now their offspring are busy making names for themselves.
Denis O’Neil, known as the reluctant millionaire, was once considered one of the wealthiest men in Sydney and counts former prime minister Paul Keating, former grocery magnate John David and business woman Lucy Turnbull among his friends.
Poppy (recently engaged to Anthony Tzaneros) owns popular interior design firm Poco Designs (which transformed Skye and David Leckie’ s Woollahra home), while Ned, who runs the Rose Bay Marina, is married to and has a son with John “Aussie John” Symond’s daughter Deborah Symond O’Neil.
Jake works in real estate and is recently rumoured to be dating old flame Louise Hay (who is the daughter of the late Hayco founder Donald Hay).
LIKES: Family pilates sessions at Body Love pilates and time on their various boats on Sydney Harbour.
NAME: Stephanie, Angus and Emerald Onisforou
FAMILY NATIONALITY: Cypriot
BIO: Their dad Theo Onisforou (who had Cypriot migrant parents) is a Sydney millionaire property investor and retail tycoon (worth tens of millions of dollars) and both kids are already hard at work trying to make a name for themselves.
While Angus is busy studying for a business law degree, Stephanie has tapped into her father’s business sense and recently founded popular Potts Point eatery Cafe de la Fontaine with business partner Joffrey Van Asten.
Stephanie, who is in her second year of an architecture degree at Sydney University, is better known in social circles as the person behind her dad’s fashion company’s The Intersection Paddington Instagram account.
And at just 13, younger sibling Emerald Onisforou, as been spotted serving customers at her big sisters venue.
LIKES: (Stephanie) Designer clothes and handbags.
NAME: Peter Manettas
FAMILY NATIONALITY: Greek
BIO: Founder of Manettas seafood and son of “seafood king” Nick Manettas of Nick’s Seafood restaurants, it comes as no surprise Peter would stick to his family business – given his great grandfather was a seafaring captain in Kastellorizo, Greece and his grandfather known for trawling Sydney Harbour then selling his products at the Fish Market at Haymarket and Paddy’s market.
Notoriously low-key Peter (in his 30s) has recently broadened his horizons and raised $2 million to launch an online auction platform that aims to bypass the need for early-morning fish markets.
The business, called ShoreTrade, gives consumers the chance to purchase fresh seafood directly to fisherman, co-operatives and purchasers.
LIKES: Golf
NAME: Daniel Tartak
FAMILY NATIONALITY: Lebanese
BIO: The managing director and CEO of waste management company Bingo, Daniel Tartak, 35, made his debut on young rich lists of Australia in 2017 with an estimated worth of $130 million.
The value of Tartak’s 17 per cent shareholding is Bingo was worth more than $191 million in 2018, making him one of the most successful and hard working heir’s in the country.
He has since gone on to acquire 19.83 per cent, buying an extra 30 million shares worth $77 million from his mother and father in 2019.
His father, Tony founded Bingo in 2005 as a skip-bin collection business with six employees and four trucks.
LIKES: Whiskey and cricket.
NAME: Josh Lowy
FAMILY NATIONALITY: Slovakian
BIO: The grandson of Westfield Corp founder Frank Lowy, Josh flaunted his wealth in 2018 when he married his partner in an extravagant multimillion-dollar wedding in Sydney’s Centennial Park.
While Josh flirted with the idea of entering the family business and once interned at the family’s Westfield empire, he instead chose to run his own technology start-up.
While he could easily have traded on his grandfathers surname and reputation, Josh has previously said having the Lowy surname hasn’t had much of an effect on the growth of his company, Hugo.
“There’s been the advice and guidance as I’ve grown up, and he’s definitely been a mentor, but the connection doesn’t really impact any part of the business,” he told StartupSmart.
“From an exposure standpoint, it’s all implicit. It’s not something we’re focused on or that we mention.”
His grandfather Sir Lowy is worth an estimated US$5.3 billion and is ranked as the fourth richest Australian.
LIKES: He’s so private no one will say
NAME: Nicky Oatley
FAMILY NATIONALITY: Australian
BIO: The popular and down to earth heiress to the Oatley Family Fortune which includes Qualia and Oatley Wines, has done anything but rest on her laurels.
The newly married “brand manager” works within the family business and runs the Whitsundays’ luxury resort Qualia, which her late grandfather Bob Oatley acquired in 2003 for $200 million.
Despite a very public and messy split from ex-husband Troy Tindall, Nicky has managed to keep her head down and bum up and secure her status as one of Australia’s hardest working offspring of one of our most affluent families.
LIKES: Cycology workouts, gardening and her two Greyhounds.
Originally published as Ash Tavakoli, Malouf cousins, Peter Manettas among money makers