The Australian Richest 250 list: Shahin family top South Australia’s wealthiest people

The three brothers behind the most successful private company in the state are South Australia’s wealthiest people. But who else made the cut in The Australian’s Richest 250 list?

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The three brothers behind the most successful private company in the state are the wealthiest South Australians on a new list of the country’s richest and most successful people.

Peregrine Corporation’s Khalil, Samer and Yasser Shahin have a combined family fortune estimated at $1.84 billion from their retail and property business, which is mostly centred around the OTR (On The Run) convenience brand.

The Shahin family are South Australia’s wealthiest representatives on the inaugural edition of the The List — Australia’s Richest 250, published in the Weekend Australian on Saturday.

Yasser Shahin and Dr Sam Shahin.

Khalil "Charlie" Shahin.

South Australia also contributes the youngest members of The List, 26-year-old online fitness queen Kayla Itsines and her 26-year-old partner Tobi Pearce, who have combined wealth of $487 million from their health and fitness platform Sweat.

The duo have already millions of fans around the world, having only gone into business five years ago when Itsines released her Better Bikini Body e-book.

They are the fourth wealthiest South Australians.

Mr Pearce said the pair are in the midst of a major expansion of the business, which will result in the having more than 100 employees at the Sweat head office in Adelaide.

He also wants Sweat to be at the forefront of merger and acquisition activity that he predicts will happen across the online fitness industry in the next few years.

“Ideally we would want to be in that group so that when people think about fitness, working out or going to the gym, people think of us first.”

Kayla Itsines and Tobi Pearce.

The Shahin brothers are the sons of the company’s late founder Fathi (Fred), who started the

business with a single service station in Adelaide’s Woodville Park in 1984 after moving to Australia as Palestinian refugees.

Peregrine today has more than 200 outlets around the country and also has extensive commercial property interests, including the $100 million motorsport complex at Tailem Bend. The Bend hosted its first Supercars event last August and also includes a dragway, hotel, caravan park and racing circuits.

Chris Thomas is the other South Australian billionaire and the second wealthiest in the state, with a $1.1 billion fortune from his family-owned Thomas Foods International meat processing business.

Thomas established the business in 1988, with TFI’s operations including a huge plant at Murray Bridge that went up in flames in early 2018.

TFI has annual revenue of more than $2 billion, and processes about 120,000 sheep, goats and lambs each week.

SA businessman property owner Nick DiMauro of Angaet Group

The third wealthiest South Australian is shopping centre owner Nick DiMauro, who has a $656 million fortune.

Mr DiMauro owns 18 commercial properties across Australia and New Zealand, having arrived in Australia from Italy in 1961 and then buying a delicatessen in 1961.

His first mall was Adelaide’s Sefton Plaza, bought in 1995.

Agriculture veteran Hugh McLachlan is the fifth wealthiest South Australian with wealth of $447 million. His Mount Pleasant-based Jumbuck Pastoral has 12 pastoral properties across South Australia, NSW and Western Australia.

Khalil, Samer and Yasser Shahin — $1.84bn Retail, property

Chris Thomas — $1.10bn Agriculture

Nick DiMauro — $656m Property

Tobi Pearce and Kayla Itsines — $487m Fitness

Hugh McLachlan & Family — $437m Agriculture

The List — Australia’s Richest 250 is published in the Weekend Australian today and is available online at www.theaustralian.com.au/rich250