Richest 250: Jason and Elvis Bey join ranks of Sydney’s wealthiest
Some of the state’s richest residents have seen their net worth plummet as varying forces wreck havoc on their bottom line. But NSW’s most wealthy people still have plenty of cash to play with.
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Western Sydney is booming, contributing more successful entrepreneurs to the ranks of Australia’s wealthiest people than ever before.
Brothers Jason and Elvis Bey, aged 37 and 45, encapsulate the growth of the west and debut on this year’s edition of The List – Australia’s Richest 250, published by The Australian on Friday.
The Bey brothers are proud Canterbury boys and co-founders of the fast-growing Sydney Tools industrial power tool and accessory retail business, which is responsible for the bulk of their estimated $597m combined fortune.
Don’t miss your copy of The List: Australia’s Richest 250, exclusively in The Australian on Friday, March 24 and online at rich250.com.au.
The duo have gone from helping out in their parents’ tool repair shop as teenagers to building one of Australia’s quietest retail success stories, forming Sydney Tools in 2001, seeing them debut at number 220 and 221 on this year’s The List.
Sydney Tools sponsors the NRL’s Canterbury Bulldogs and has about 70 outlets around Australia.
It is one the country’s largest wholesalers and retailers of industrial tools and accessories and they have plans to open another 10 outlets.
The Bey brothers had a net profit of almost $60m in 2022 from $716m revenue in 2022, according to documents lodged with the corporate regulator.
Other names on The List from Sydney’s west include Tony Perich ($1.68bn), who owns the big Leppington Pastoral business and big housing developments at Oran Park.
Perich also owns the fast-growing Narellan Town Centre with Arnold Vitocco ($1.05bn)
John Dib ($643m) has also built a big business, the Metro Petroleum chain, from the West. Dib started with one site in Sydney’s Punchbowl, a Caltex franchise, 40 years ago. Today, Metro claims to service more than 40,000 private and commercial clients in Australia with its wholesale distribution service.
Revenue hit $2bn last year and the Group made a pre-tax profit of $60m.
The richest people from NSW this year on The List are:
1. Harry Triguboff ($23.60bn)
The 90-year-old remains Australia’s apartments king and shows little signs of slowing down. His Meriton has vast reach across property, including the nation’s highest number of hotel rooms via its serviced apartment business, more than 4,000 investment apartments and close to 12,000 units in development. Triguboff also celebrates Meriton’s 60th anniversary this year. The business made a $450 million pre-tax profit in 2022.
2. Mike Cannon-Brookes ($16.06bn)
The Atlassian co-founder has lost $10bn from his paper fortune this year, as the share price of his software firm plunges. Cannon-Brookes has made plenty of headlines for his renewable energy pursuits, which includes a major shareholding in AGL and a stake in the private Sun Cable business that he is vying with Andrew Forrest to take control of.
3. Scott Farquhar ($15.56 billion)
Farquhar broke the Australian property record in January, when it was revealed he was shelling out $130 million to buy the Sydney harbourside home known as Uig Lodge in Point Piper. His wealth has also fallen about $10bn though, along with Cannon-Brookes as the value of their Atlassian software firm plunges.
4. Cliff Obrecht & Melanie Perkins ($10.13bn combined)
The Canva co-founders are the darlings of the tech sector, but even they have been hit by the downturn in their industry in the past year. The fortune has fallen by more than $5bn on paper, as the value of their online graphics business has been slashed.
5. Richard White ($8.56bn)
White is the boss and founder of an Australian technology industry heavyweight, the ASX-listed logistics software firm WiseTech Global. Unlike others in the industry, White has had a good year – putting $2.5bn on his fortune as WiseTech’s shares have surged. He paid $27.5m for a house in Sydney’s Palm Beach this year and is also putting $50 million into a technology education philanthropic fund.
Mining magnate Gina Rinehart tops the The List this year with a fortune of more than $30bn.
The 2023 edition of The List – Australia’s Richest 250 is published on Friday in The Australian and online at richest250.com.au.
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