AFL Rich List: Some of the players who have made their fortune off the field
These stars made their names on-field but cashed in after the siren sounded on their careers. This is how they made their riches.
Fiona Byrne
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While grand finals and premierships are the pinnacle for some AFL players, for others being part of a senior team is just a stepping stone on a career to far greatest success.
The AFL has produced plenty of business high flyers of significance with some cracking the fabled rich lists and others creating careers of distinction and great financial reward post their playing days.
Here is a snapshot of just some of those who kicked onto bigger and better things after the siren sounded on their football career.
ANDREW WELSH
Andrew Welsh played 162 games for Essendon between 2002 and 2011 however he had found much greater success in the area of property development.
The former Bomber turned young rich lister – he is 37 – owns and operates property developer Wel. Co which is developing $1.5bn in residential property on the fringes of Melbourne including Thornhill Park, Bowery Deanside and Armstrong Creek.
Welsh is worth $136m according to a recent young rich list. He also has a stake in Sitetech Solutions which provides temporary fencing, toilets and signs to building sites.
MIKE FITZPATRICK
Mike Fitzpatrick played for Carlton between 1975 and 1983, playing in premierships in 1979, 1981, and 1982, and captaining the club from 1980 to 1983. After his decorated AFL career he worked in the Victorian Treasury during the Cain Labor government before moving into investment banking with Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse. He founded infrastructure investment fund Hastings Fund Management in 1994. Westpac paid $36m to buy a 51 per cent stake in Hastings in 2002, taking over the remaining 49 per cent in 2005 for an undisclosed sum. Fitzpatrick shelled out $9m for a mansion in South Yarra in 2011.
KERRY GOOD
Kerry Good played 150 games for North Melbourne between 1977 and 1983 and is remembered for kicking a goal after the siren sounded to win the 1980 night grand final for the Kangaroos. Post AFL Good co-founded Melbourne-based packaging company Integrated Packaging with Peter Johnstone which became the nation’s largest manufacturing specialist of stretch film wrap and stretch wrapping equipment. It developed and patented the Silawrap bale-wrapping system, providing stretch wrap for hay bales all over the world. The pair sold a 22 per cent stake in the business to Hastings Fund Management – founded by former AFL player Mike Fitzpatrick – for $27.5m in 2001, valuing the business at more than $130m. Good and Johnstone sold out of the business in 2007 for an undisclosed sum.
CRAIG ELLIS
Craig Ellis played 107 games for the Western Bulldogs and 15 games for Melbourne in an AFL career that lasted from 1994 – 2002. Always interested in fashion, Ellis co-founded bikini brand Triangl in 2012 with then partner Erin Deering. The business took off when Kendall Jenner tweeted out a range of their neoprene bikinis. Social media endorsements from Beyonce and Miley Cyrus followed, along with 2.3m Instagram followers. Financial details are scant – the business is registered in Hong Kong – although the cult brand reportedly threw off $80m in sales in 2015. Ellis bought out Deering when they split in 2018. She appears on the most recent young rich list with a fortune valued at $35m.
CHRIS LYNCH
Chris Lynch played 5 games for Geelong between 1972 and 1974 before deciding his talents lay elsewhere. Lynch went on to become CEO of Transurban from 2008 to 2012 where he picked up $21m in remuneration and CFO of Rio Tinto from 2013 – 2018 where he picked up $34.5m in remuneration. He was on the AFL commission from 2008 until 2014. He currently sits on the Westpac board.
CHRIS LANGFORD
Chris Langford played 303 games for Hawthorn between 1983 – 1997 and in that time was part of four premierships: 1986, 1988, 1989 and 1991. He captained the club in 1994. Outside of football Langford co-founded real estate property fund Newmark Capital which raises money from investors to buy prime retail real estate. The fund manager oversees a portfolio of $1bn in blue chip property including the Jam Factory, Como Centre and the David Jones menswear building in the Bourke Street Mall. Out of hours Langford kicks back at a sprawling retreat spanning 25 acres on the Mornington Peninsula complete with guesthouse, tennis court and club house. He was an AFL Commissioner from 1999 – 2016.
FERGUS WATTS
Fergus Watts played 5 games for Adelaide and one game for St Kilda during an AFL career that spanned 2004 – 2006. He went on to co-found communications and marketing agency Bastion Collective with his brother Jack in 2009. They have built Bastion into a 250 person agency group in 10 years with offices in Melbourne, Sydney and California in the United States. Financial details are scarce although Bastion reported generating $20m in revenue in 2016 and the business has only gotten bigger. He lives in a multimillion-dollar spread on the Mornington Peninsula.
PAUL DIMATTINA
Paul Dimattina played 131 games for the Western Bulldogs between 1995 and 2003.
Part of a small family-based hospitality empire, Paul owns and operates Lamaro’s Hotel in South Melbourne while other family members operate Il Gambero on Lygon Street, Bluetrain bar and cafe on Southbank and 30Kerr65 espresso bar in Fitzroy. The family also runs Diamantina Coffee which sources, roasts and blends its own-brand coffee which is sold wholesale and online. It also operates a barista school and services espresso equipment.
JOEL MACDONALD
Joel Macdonald played 80 games for the Brisbane Lions and 44 games for Melbourne in an AFL career that spanned 2004 -2013. He exploded onto the rich list with his once red hot delivery software platform GetSwift. It’s share price surged from 30c to $4 over 2017 after it announced a string of contracts with major companies including Commonwealth Bank and Amazon. That took Mr Mcdonald’s paper wealth to close to $150m via his stake in the company where he serves as managing director. The corporate cop has since taken action against Get Swift, alleging it misled investors by overhyping the deals The company is also facing a class action from investors who say it failed to update the market when it lost contracts. Get Swift’s share price has since plunged back to around 34c – valuing Mr McDonald’s 41.7m shares at around $14m. He is also in line to pick up another 11m in shares if certain performance targets are hit, and picked up $1.6m in pay and perks for 2019-20.
LINDSAY FOX
Lindsay Fox played 20 games for St Kilda from 1959 to 1961 and the club has remained a passion for the leviathan businessman. Fox is one of Australia’s most successful business moguls with his wealth estimated at $4.18bn on The Australian’s 2020 richest 250 list. The son of a truck driver, Fox left school at the age of 16 and bought his first truck when he was 19. Today, Linfox is one of the largest Australian based transport and warehousing groups with operations in 10 countries. His empire employs more than 30,000 people across Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia. His assets include Melbourne’s Essendon Airport, which he bought with Max Beck for $22 million in 2001. He also owns Avalon Airport.
CHRIS JUDD
Although best known for his football feats which include winning two Brownlow Medals, a Norm Smith Medal, captaining West Coast to the 2006 Grand Final and being captain of Carlton during his 279 game AFL career which covered 2002 – 2015, Judd is carving out a career in business. He is a part owner of sportswear company Jaggad and has been an astute property investor. His interest in investing, stocks and business has seen him launch Chrisjuddinvest.com along with three podcasts focused on finance. Don’t back against him.
CRAIG KELLY
Craig Kelly played 122 games for Collingwood in an AFL career that covered 1989 to 1996, but it is through sports management that he has made fortune. In 1995 he was contracted by the AFL to manage the AFL Pro Squad, a player marketing and promotions business. The following year he joined forces with Rob Woodhouse and Scott Davidson to create Elite Sports Properties. Kelly hit the jackpot in the early 2000s when he and his partners sold the business for $17.5 million and then not long after bought it back for $2 million. Kelly and Woodhouse cashed in again in March 2015 when TLA Worldwide bought ESP in a deal worth up to $25.5m. Last year QMS Sport bought TLA for $32.7 million. Kelly remains a director and the CEO of the business.
STEPHEN WALLIS
Stephen Wallis played 261 games for Footscray (now Western Bulldogs) between 1983 and 1996. He captained the club in 1989. Outside of football Wallis established the Andrews & Wallis Motor Group in 1991 with John Andrews. The powerful car dealership grew to have four other partners and was bought in 2018 by Japan’s biggest used-car dealer, IDOM Inc. for a rumoured $66 million. At the time of the sale the business operated four dealerships in the Essendon Fields precinct, selling vehicles from seven manufacturers, including Honda, Mazda and Toyota. Wallis’s son Mitch plays for the Western Bulldogs.
DAVID POLKINGHORNE
David Polkinghorne played 164 games for Hawthorn from 1975 to 1984 and was part of two premierships -1976 and 1978. He has gone on to be one of the top civil engineers in the world. In 2016 he received the prestigious Sir John Holland Civil Engineer of the Year Award from the College of Civil Engineers of Engineers Australia. A long time employee of the John Holland Group, he was Construction Manager for the Southern Stand at the MCG, the Friendship Bridge which was the first structure over the Mekong River between Laos and Thailand, the Sydney Showground and Olympics facility and the new Parliament House in Canberra.
ANDREW LEONCELLI
Andrew Leoncelli played 146 games for Melbourne between 1996 and 2003. After football he pursued a career in property development and sales and is currently the Managing Director for Victoria of CBRE. He established the Residential Projects division of CBRE in Victoria in 2010. His projects include managing sales for Australia 108 which is the highest residential building in the southern hemisphere. He worked on the deal to secure the sale of the penthouse at the super skyscraper for $25 million in 2015.
MICHAEL NETTLEFOLD
Michael Nettlefold played 43 games for St Kilda and 31 games for Fitzroy during his 74 game AFL career that lasted from 1979 to 1985. He retired from footy at the age of 26 to concentrate on his business career finding great success in the outdoor advertising space among various investments. He was the CEO of St Kilda from 2009 until 2013. His many company involvements include being chairman of player management company Vivid Sports.
FRASER BROWN
Fraser Brown played 177 games for Carlton from 1989 to 2000. He was part of Carlton’s 1995 premiership winning team. After football Brown turned his focus to his family’s Brown Property Group of which he is a director. The company is one of Victoria’s leading private property developers with a focus on Melbourne’s South East. The Group’s residential developments include Golden Grove, Melington, Grandview, The Avenue at Casey, Highgrove and the Meridian projects in Clyde North. They are currently working on the Riverside development in Clyde.
STEWART GULL
Stewart Gull played 87 games for South Melbourne and two games for Melbourne in an footy career that spanned 1972 -1979. He went on to a significant career in real estate covering residential, industrial and rural sales and founded the retirement village business, Country Club Living. Country Club Living is described as one of the largest family owned retirement village businesses in Australia for independent living for over 55’s. In 2016 he sold his farm, Banongill, near Skipton for a rumoured $48 million.
ANDREW PHILLIPS
Andrew Phillips played 42 games for Carlton between 1989 and 1991. He and his brother Anthony, founded Camp Australia which was sold to private equity firm Bain Capital for around $400 million in late 2016. Camp Australia provides before-and-after-school care for primary school students.
LUKE DARCY
Lucy Darcy played 226 games with the Western Bulldogs in a career that spanned 1994 to 2007. Darcy is one of the names to watch as a footballer building a significant post playing business portfolio. Apart from his media deals with Triple M and Channel 7, Darcy has investments in Melbourne watering holes such as the General Assembly, Melbourne Public and the Precinct Hotel in Richmond. He comes from a family well-versed in hospitality and successful pubs and has a wealth of experience in the area. He also part owns Sukhavati Bali, an old Buddhist retreat that has been turned into a luxury resort focusing on yoga, health and spa relaxation. Definitely an entrepreneur to watch.
Who did we miss? Contact fiona.byrne@news.com.au
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