Meet Australia’s nepo babies: The kids born into business dynasties
In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about ‘nepo babies’ — kids who have gotten a leg up by having famous or rich parents. Meet the Aussies who have been born into impressively wealthy dynasty families.
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In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about “nepo babies” and the kids who have gotten a leg up by having a famous or rich parent.
Here we take a look at the Australian kids who have been born into impressively wealthy dynasty families and ultimately benefited from their grandparents enormous success.
While some fly under the radar, others follow in the footsteps of their often entrepreneurial, cashed-up grandparents and us their instantly recognisable surname to open doors.
THE WATERHOUSES
William “Bill’’ Waterhouse is best known for being the country’s biggest bookmaker in the 1960s, as well as a businessman and barrister.
He was also Tonga’s honorary consul general in Australia.
Son Robbie and his wife, racing royalty Gai Waterhouse, have two children, Kate and Tom.
Kate, who is married to former NRL player Luke Ricketson, is considered one of Sydney’s most stylish women, while Tom has followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and also made his millions in bookmaking.
He and wife Hoda recently moved into their $20m dream home on the North Shore.
THE TRIGUBOFFS
Billionaire apartment developer Harry Triguboff, who is worth $5.5bn, set up his company when he was just 30 — and is still running it at age 91.
Twice married, with two daughters and four grandchildren — Daniel, Ariel, Ella and Miki — he has often talked about one day handing over the reins of his multibillion-dollar company to his grandkids.
Grandsons Daniel and Ariel Hendler both work in the company, with the former most likely to take over when Harry takes a step back.
“What I do is, from time to time, I give my children and grandchildren some properties,’’ Triguboff told BRW last year.
“It’s in their name. So, whatever happens to me at least they will have their own property.”
Miki has previously worked in the family business and is a shadow board member for not-for-profit group WIZO.
She married Elliott Solomon in 2023. He is the heir to the Solotel Group fortune.
Ella has previously worked as Meriton’s marketing manager.
THE INGHAMS
The hugely successful Ingham poultry business was founded by the late Walter Ingham Sr in 1918 as a gift to his son, Walter.
After Walter Ingham Jr’s death in 1953, his sons, Bob (who died in 2020) and Jack (who died in 2003), built the company into the largest producer of chickens and turkeys in Australia. The company was sold to TPG Capital in 2014 for $880m.
Jack and Bob’s grandchildren and heirs to the billion-dollar business need little introduction.
Throughout the years, the Ingham Chicken founder’s grandkids have had their fair share of time in the spotlight.
Tamie Ingham initially hit the social pages when she founded a shoe brand with Karl Stefanovic’s wife, model Jasmine Stefanovic.
Then she married celebrity chef Guillaume Brahimi at what was branded the “celebrity wedding of the year” in 2023, with Paul Bassat, Lachlan Murdoch, John Ryan, Gillon McLachlan, Shannon Bennett and Erika Packer in attendance.
Tamie’s brother, Johnny Ingham, also married someone with a profile, tying the knot with “it” girl Rey Vakili in Italy last year. He is considered one of the nicest guys on the Sydney social scene.
Tamie and Johnny’s sister, Katie Ingham, is considered the most fun of the trio and founded lubricant brand, Tussle.
Their cousin, Jess Ingham, once besties with PR queen Roxy Jacenko, married Alex Macris in 2013, in what was a $500,000 Gatsby-style wedding. They later split in 2018 and she has since tied the knot with Roger Zraika.
Another cousin is Giselle Ingham, the daughter of fashion royalty Robby Ingham and wife former model Sarah (who was once linked to James Packer).
Giselle is considered one of the lesser-known but much-loved family members who is branded an “enigmatic hippy” by those who know her.
While her cousins often flaunt and flash their wealth, Giselle is a one-time ballerina who has a penchant for knitting.
THE PRATTS
Australia’s biggest recycler, former AFL footy club president, patron of the arts, family man and immigrant tycoon, self-made billionaire Richard Pratt lived life to the fullest.
He was generous and charismatic in his role as founder of the Visy Industries empire, with the following generations now regularly topping Australia’s most wealthy lists.
Georgia, Bella and Sammy Geminder are the granddaughters of Australia’s late “Cardboard King”, with the glamorous daughters of billionaire packaging magnates Raphael and Fiona Geminder now coming into their own.
Georgia shows that business nous runs in the family, having made the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 List in Asia with her flourishing oral healthcare brand Gem, while fellow model-turned-businesswoman Bella is also on the rise, recently announcing her engagement to long-time boyfriend Jose Falk.
THE MALONEYS
Third-generation hotelier and lifetime industry devotee Cyril Maloney has 10 grandchildren: Kathleen, Desmond, Matthew, Xander, Mitchell, Max, Megan, Monica, Sarah and Ryan.
In 2003, it was reported that he had accumulated a hotel and property fortune worth $125m.
Son Kim has followed his father’s footsteps into the hotel business and has featured on the various Rich Lists numerous times.
Kim’s daughter, Sarah, is a digital creator with 25,700 Instagram followers and is an avid social media poster, documenting her globetrotting and lavish lifestyle.
Ryan is considered a bit of a party boy and counts high profile nightclub boss Julian Tobias and Only Fans model Paris Ow Yang among his friends.
THE GANDELS
Property developer and mega-philanthropist John Gandel owns half of the southern hemisphere’s largest shopping mall, Chadstone, with more than 500 stores in eastern Melbourne.
Gandel first got rich by expanding his Polish immigrant parents’ clothing chain for women, Sussan, now owned by his niece Naomi Milgrom.
Granddaughter of Gandel and wife Pauline, Lauren Thurin is the daughter of Gandel’s daughter, Lisa Thurin, and her husband, David Thurin, a lifetime member of the Melbourne Demons and owner of Tigcorp.
New York-based investment executive Lauren made headlines when she celebrated her 30th birthday with a virtual conference dedicated to raising funds for mental health charities, raising almost $100,000 by night’s end.
She recently married Ollie Howard, the son of another prominent Melbourne family, former Victorian Governor Linda Dessau and former County Court judge Anthony Howard.
THE LOWYS
The 93-year-old former chairman of Westfield, who is one of Australia’s wealthiest people with an estimated worth of $20.81bn, has three sons, Steven, Peter and David, and grandchildren named Daniel, Noah, Josh and Benjamin.
Noah works in finance in New York and recently got married in Miami, while Benjamin has been hugely successful in the theatre business.
Josh, who runs a start-up, married Britt Friede in 2018 in one of Sydney’s most expensive weddings.
THE MYERS
The founder of the Myer department store in 1900 became one of the country’s most visionary business figures and entrepreneurs.
After establishing himself as a hawker in the goldfields region of Victoria, Sidney Myer and his brother Elcon opened a small drapery store in Bendigo, going on to become one of the most successful department stores in Australia.
Myer’s grandson, also called Sidney, married Fiona Myer who started successful fashion business White Story in 2016.
The label is a range of Australian-designed and manufactured shirts for men and women. She and Sidney have three children, William, Ed and Jess.
William married wife Sarah in the Toorak family home in 2021. Will’s brother Ed married model Georgia Connolly in a no-expense-spared ceremony the year prior.
LINDSAY FOX
Lindsay Fox famously founded Australia’s largest privately owned trucking and logistics company, Linfox, with just one truck.
The no-nonsense business goliath is now famous for his philanthropic endeavours, recently donating $100m to the National Gallery of Victoria to mark wife Paula’s birthday.
The trucking magnate has up to 14 grandchildren, with many of the heirs understood to be following in their grandfather’s footsteps and working within the family business.
Like grandfather, like son, like grandson, you are passing another generation of Fox.
Harry Fox, son of Andrew and Fiona Fox, who looks after father Lindsay’s Linfox property group portfolio, was recently married in a lavish ceremony at his grandfather’s $50m Toorak mansion, with sister Bella following suit with her own lavish celebrations.
Grandson Charles Fox is understood to be making a name for himself, working his way up at the Fox-owned Avalon Airport.
THE STOKESES
Australian billionaire businessman Kerry Stokes has four children — Ryan, Russel, Raeline and Bryant.
The Seven Network chairman has a number of young grandchildren, who are heirs to his $7bn Seven West Media, Coates Hire, WesTrac and Caterpillar equipment fortune. However, he very private about their identities.
Seven Group Holdings chief executive Ryan and wife Claire have three small children – Rafferty Kerry Campbell, Vivienne Maryon and Ilaria Mina.
Brother Bryant has one daughter, Victoria.
THE COWINS
Fast-food king Jack Cowin, who is worth $5bn, runs the Australian Burger King franchise under the name Hungry Jack’s and also has significant investments in Domino’s in Australia and the US.
Cowin has three daughters, one son and 12 grandchildren.
The 82-year-old and his family are extremely private and not much is known about the grandkids.
However, he said in an interview two years ago that it was likely some of them would follow in his footsteps.
“One of my 12 grandkids may come into the business,” he said.
“It’s entirely up to them as I would never push them one way or another.
“Quite a few of them have done summer jobs with us, which is an encouraging sign.”
THE MUELLERS
It’s not only Joshua Penn’s parents, Linda and David, who are uber-wealthy, his mother’s father, Hans Mueller, is considered one of Australia’s greatest success stories.
Entrepreneur Hans came to Australia with no money and no contacts, and managed to buy Lowes, in 1981.
He now one of the best-known menswear retail chains in the country.
Linda now runs and co-owns the brand with her brother Jeffrey.
Joshua and his sister, Mel, and Alex are all benefiting from their grandparents’ enormous wealth.
Joshua recently purchased a €13m ($A21m) castle just outside of Monaco.
Penn, a father of two, is co-chairman of the Gold Dinner Committee and is the founder of luxury clothing store Belinda International.
THE WALKERS
Billionaire property tycoon and philanthropist, the late Lang Walker, has three children — Blake, Chad, Georgia — and 10 grandchildren, aged between five and 23.
While Walker, who co-founded Walker Corp with father Alec in 1964, was quite private about his grandchildren, in a 2021 interview he opened up about them on his favourite project Kokomo Private Island Resort, in Fiji, a place he spent time with them.
“Everyone has to have a passion,” he said at the time. “I’ve got 10 grandkids. They all go there, and it’s the glue that holds the family together.
“We go diving and sailing together. The family loves it.
“There are some things you do where it’s not about making money.
“But I’m now determined, having spent that sort of sum, to make it one of the best resorts in the world on all fronts.”
THE BONDS
Business identity Alan Bond, who died in 2015, has three children John, Craig and Jody and eight grandchildren.
While the majority of his grandkids have chosen to keep a low profile, two have used the family name to forge successful careers — Banjo and Jeremy Bond.
Jeremy Bond, a high-profile fund manager, wed his partner of more than seven years, jeweller and girl about town Olivia in 2013.
He is the first to admit that despite the notoriety around the Bond name, “there are some doors that automatically open.”
His brother Banjo, who is married to Kate Bond (eyebrow artist Kristin Fisher’s sister) is a founding Director of Cosgrove Group and is involved in all aspects of the business with a particular focus on acquisitions.
THE SAUNDERS
John Saunders, the late co-founder of shopping giant Westfield, who in 2019 was worth around $2bn, has two daughters: under-the-radar philanthropist Monica Saunders-Weinberg and Betty Klimenko, who was adopted by Saunders.
Monica and her husband, Richard Weinberg, who is managing director of Terrace Tower Group, have three young children, as does the adopted heiress of the Westfield fortune, Betty.
In 2021, Klimenko bought six properties in Vaucluse so she can keep her family — three sons — close to her.
THE WINNINGS
John “Choc” Winning, the father of John “Woody” Winning and grandfather of John Jr “Herman” Winning and sister Jamie Winning Kermond, founded what is now known as Winning Appliances back in 1906.
With the initial trading name of R.W. Winning & Co, it was first set up to deal with the horse and carriage trade (and hardware).
The Winning family, all avid sailors, have a sprawling appliance business and plenty of investment other ventures and are worth around $700 million.
Quirky, eclectic and adventurous grandson John ‘Herman’ Winning has been in the media of late thanks to the fact he is dating high profile nude artist Dina Broadhurst.
His bespoke two-storey warehouse in Surry Hills has been branded one of Sydney’s “coolest houses” thanks to its private nightclub and a “sleeping pod shaped like a UFO bedroom.
His sister Jamie is considered one of the country’s top showjumpers.
THE OATLEYS
Esteemed yachtsman, the late Bob “Popeye’’ Oatley made his first fortune selling Papua New Guinea’s coffee and cocoa beans internationally.
He later pocketed almost $1.5 billion selling wine giant Rosemount to Southcorp in 2001, and acquired Hamilton Island in 2003 for $200 million.
Bob’s children — Sandy, Ian and Rosalind — are all directors of the family office, Balmoral Australia, formally Balmoral Pastoral Investments, and all have multiple children.
Perhaps the grandchild with the biggest profile is Sandy’s daughter and Bob’s granddaughter, Hamilton Island brand manager Nicky Oatley (whose family also happen to own the slice of Queensland paradise) who has two children with her husband Jonathan Pearce.
Did we forget anyone? Email briana.domjen@news.com.au
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