This Month
Escalante to buy out investors in his $3.2b online gambling giant
Billionaire Laurence Escalante already controls 70 per cent of Virtual Gaming Worlds, and last month told unhappy shareholders they should just sell out of the company.
May
You’re probably part of Australia’s new inheritocracy
A quarter of the Rich List derived their wealth from inheritance, reflecting a wider shift as Australians start to transfer a staggering $5.4 trillion to the next generation.
The disturbing things I learnt when my name appeared on the Rich List
When future Rich Lists are populated by beneficiaries rather than entrepreneurs, wealth inequality risks becoming a cancer on our egalitarian ethos.
In this hit show, the rich are miserable, flailing and depressed
In “Your Friends and Neighbours”, the world of the wealthy is a place where unhappiness is magnified and financial security is an illusion.
Gina Rinehart tips $4b into US shares – here’s what she’s buying
Australia’s richest person is going all in on the US, shrugging off concerns her political idol Donald Trump could spell disaster for the nation’s economy.
Meet the other Lew: Steven, who’s quietly built a $1b retail empire
Steven Lew, the youngest son of retail billionaire Solomon Lew, has built one of the nation’s largest homeware groups, and has international expansion plans.
Worried the kids will blow it all? This might help
Structured philanthropy, even at modest levels, can foster purpose, build family cohesion, and create real community outcomes.
April
Robyn Denholm’s ‘simply absurd’ family office legal fight
For someone who has made her career advising tech and telco companies, the Tesla chair is failing at trademark claims.
For one day a year this fund lets you invest like a family office
Limiting when you accept money seems a strange way for a fund to attract investment. But this private equity fund is also almost debt-free. What’s going on?
March
Why the Bendel case could lead to Division 7A’s long-overdue revamp
The big question is whether the government will apply another Band-aid solution or finally decide to simplify anti-avoidance laws.
What it takes to be in Australia’s top 1 per cent (in 6 charts)
Wondering how wealthy you are compared to your fellow Australians? Find out whether you rank in the top 25, 5 or 1 per cent.
‘We’ll fight’: Alex Waislitz on family battles and bad bets
The billionaire investor is mired in clashes with his ex-wife, future sister-in-law and developer Tim Gurner. But he’s up for it, he says.
Point Piper in a lather over car wash king’s swimming pool
Crystal’s Anthony Sahade has tried and (so far) failed to have a pool built 10 metres elevated above Sydney Harbour.
Billionaire Waislitz rejects claim of $21m in improper loans
Billionaire investor Alex Waislitz has denied his ex-wife Heloise Pratt’s claims that he improperly made $21 million in loans to spend on his fiancee.
February
Cannon-Brookes sacked CFO for ‘very significant’ transfer to his wife
The couple separated almost two years ago, and are in the midst of a messy fight as they split some $24 billion of assets after a 13-year marriage.
What family offices are investing in
This booming sector likes to keep a low profile. But its secrets aren’t always far from the surface.
Avoiding tax traps of succession planning
The ATO has telegraphed an interest in the intergenerational wealth transfer, which means taxpayers are probably getting something wrong.
January
ATO to crack down on Baby Boomer wealth transfer ‘risks’
The Australian Taxation Office says it will zero in on Baby Boomers restructuring private companies to pass billions onto their heirs.
Pratt’s granddaughter married in lavish Raheen wedding
The lavish garden wedding at the Pratt family mansion took place on the same day another branch of the clan were fighting it out over the $23 billion family empire.
December 2024
Smorgon stoush triggers gold mine fire sale
One of Australia’s most powerful families have pushed their Chinese partners in the Stawell gold mine into receivership.