Rags to riches Mum, Dad and Dave Warner

HE once earned $12 an hour packing shelves at Woolworths. Today David Warner is Australian cricket's $5 million man.

Warner blazes through leg side. Picture: AP

HE once earned $12 an hour packing shelves at Woolworths. Today, David Warner is the exemplar of rags-to-riches success, emerging from a housing commission estate to become Australian cricket's $5 million man.

Away from the public glare of life in the baggy green, Warner has been privately cultivating enough wealth to reward parents Howard and Lorraine with early retirement.

News_Image_File: David Warner's father Howard reacts to his son reaching 100 at the Gabba in Brisbane on Saturday. Picture: Adam Head

Welcome to Warner Inc, the investment and real-estate portfolio the Test opener is amassing in his journey from blue-collar battler to self-made millionaire.

Warner may have earned infamy for punching English rival Joe Root in a Birmingham bar in June, but he is nobody's fool.

Behind the scenes he is financially savvy, funnelling the millions he makes from cricket into property deals that ensure he will never experience the scrap for every dollar that defined his childhood.

For the past 26 years Warner's parents Howard and Lorraine lived a simple existence in Matraville.

Their lessons for sons Steve and David have spawned true reward. To work hard. To stay grounded. To appreciate the hard road, the grind, and where it can take you.

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For all his millions, Warner has not severed his working-class roots. A day after playing a key role in Australia's first-Test hammering of England, where he thumped 49 and 124, he was back at Matraville RSL enjoying a quiet beer with his old man.

"People don't see the real side to Dave," Warner Sr says.

"David has come a long way. I remember he was packing shelves at Woolies. He used to finish shifts at midnight and I would pick him up. He was only 15. He used to keep asking for pocket money and we just didn't have any money, so he got his own job.

"He grew up with very little. When you grow up hard you appreciate it more than if you have money all your life.

"If you are filthy rich you don't bloody appreciate anything. David has toiled on his own. We never thought he could earn such big dollars but he is working his guts out and it is paying dividends now."

News_Image_File: Warner, fourth from left in the front row, as a schoolboy cricketer.

Warner's gift to Howard, 60, and Lorraine, 57, is that they will never have to work again.

"We have always been battlers, it's been a struggle at times," says Howard, a hardware salesman.

"He's looked after us, he's a bloody good boy. I'm so proud of him. To be honest, Dave has got us out of debt. We weren't in huge debt but we had credit cards and he's paid them all off for us."

The combative opener has several income streams. One of the nation's top-five ranked players, he pockets around $2 million annually from his Cricket Australia deal. There are sponsorships with Gray-Nicolls, Asics, All Day Socks and ANZ Stadium. Throw in an Indian Premier League contracts worth almost $2 million and Warner is one of Australia's richest athletes.

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His manager, Tony Connolly, is currently in the marketplace looking to build on the Warner empire. But the 27-year-old's focus remains cricket and he has enlisted professional help to monitor his business interests.

"He's got a full-time financial adviser that takes care of his portfolio," Connolly said.

"You can easily underestimate Dave but he is very street-smart and very savvy off the field. He is doing the right thing with his money and setting up his financial security.

"What he does in the next 10 years will set him up for the rest of his life. He can make a lot of money and never have to work again.

"The great thing is Dave is unaffected by it all. He hasn't forgot his roots, he is still the same kid who grew up in Matraville."

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