The young, rich Melbourne boys who are making it big
They’re making a fortune from construction to crypto — and even fake tan — but while these entrepeneurs have not even hit midlife, they’re already at the top of their game. Meet the young rich boys of Melbourne.
Fiona Byrne
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They are successful, youthful and entrepreneurial and they are not afraid to enjoy the benefits of their hard work.
These are the young rich men of Melbourne who have created substantial wealth for themselves in diverse fields — from hospitality to tech, from crypto to fake tan, from construction to marketing, and more.
Already at the top of their respective game — and fixtures on rich lists — these guys still have time on their side: none of them are nearing 50 yet.
Here is a snapshot of the rich boys of Melbourne.
Adrian Portelli
Billionaire trade promotions king Adrian Portelli made his name and fortune via his LMCT+ giveaway and membership business and in the past year has been generating huge publicity with his ever growing collection of super high-end luxury cars, his $39m apartment in the Melbourne CBD, his limited edition Lamborghini boat and his private jet (formerly owned by the late Melbourne advertising legend Harold Mitchell). Portelli, 34, recently became a dad for the first time with the birth of his son, Mercy, earlier this year.
Ed Craven
Melbourne-based cryptocurrency gambling mogul Ed Craven has, according to the Financial Review’s 2024 Rich List, a fortune of $4.5bn to his name. That is big bucks for a guy who is yet to turn 30. Craven, and his business partner Bijan Tehrani, have made their wealth via Stake.com, an online cryptocurrency casino. Stake does not operate in Australia. Craven and Tehrani have another fast growing online company, Kick, a streaming platform.
Craven famously paid $80m for a derelict “ghost” mansion in Toorak in 2022. He has since demolished the property and is spending $145m to build a massive dream home. The state of the art mansion has been designed by Melbourne architect Paul Conrad. Work on the mega home is being overseen by Melbourne building and developing firm Davies Henderson. It is expected to take three years to finish the home.
Shaun Wilson and Blair James
Melbourne entrepreneurs Shaun Wilson and Blair James turned fake tan into a global business via their Bondi Sands brand. The sunless tanning range launched in 2012 and took over the world — literally. The brand was acquired by Japanese-owned multinational, Kao Group, for almost $450M in 2023.
James and Wilson have stayed on with the company post sale as creative director (James) and chief executive (Wilson) and intend to continue the growth of the Bondi Sands tanning, SPF and skincare ranges.
Wilson is engaged to model and podcaster, Tess Shanahan. They are expecting their first child. James and his wife Melanie welcomed their first child, a son named Holland, in October last year.
Sam and Ryan Kroonenburg
Melbourne brothers Sam and Ryan Kroonenburg made a fortune when they sold their online training platform, A Cloud Guru, to US company Pluralsight for $2bn in 2021. They founded the company in 2015. The Financial Review Young Rich list placed Sam Kroonenburg’s personal wealth at an estimated $570m.
Ruslan Kogan
Growing up in a housing commission flat in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick, Ruslan Kogan always had an interest in technology and business.
At 10 years of age, his entrepreneurial flair was on show when he started a business collecting lost golf balls, cleaning them, repacking them and selling them to golfers. In 2006, aged 23, he founded online retailer Kogan.com.
The Financial Review Young Rich list estimated Kogan to have a personal wealth of more than $420m. Kogan’s wife, Anastasia, was the best dressed by far at the prestigious NGV Gala in December 2023, wearing a stunning gown constructed by artist Troy Emery. Emery uses pompoms to create sculpture and there were more than 94,000 pompoms hand-glued to fashion the skirt of Anastasia’s gown. The 18.5kg outfit was true wearable art.
Andrew Welsh
Former Essendon midfielder Andrew Welsh has kicked some huge goals post his footy career in the field of property development.
Welsh, 41, retired from AFL in 2011 and dabbled in TV and business before turning his full focus to property development. His Wel.Co company has projects on the go in Queensland and South Australia as well as Victoria. Competed developments include Thornhill Park, Bowery estate at Deanside and Winton estate at Deanside in Victoria. Current projects in regional Victoria include Harlowe in Bendigo, Yallarah at Echuca. Welsh is the vice-president of the Essendon Football Club.
Tim Gurner
Tim Gurner has been backing himself in business since he was 19. Gurner started out owning a gym and has gone on to be one of Australia’s highest profile property developers. Last week Gurner and ASX-listed financier Qualitas bought out Newmark Capital to take full ownership of the iconic Jam Factory site in South Yarra.
He is growing his Saint Haven wellness club with three sites in Melbourne — Collingwood, South Yarra and Toorak. The 2024 Financial Review Rich List estimated Gurner to be worth $989m.
The Gurner Group developed the much talked about Saint Moritz residences on the St Kilda esplanade.
Alexander Zaccaria and Anthony Zaccaria
Melbourne brothers Alexander and Anthony Zaccaria are the co-founders, along with Nicholas Humphreys, of Linktree. Linktree enables users to link to their various social media platforms. The trio is each estimated to be worth $200m, according to the 2023 Financial Review Young Rich List.
Selvam Sinnappan and Winston Wijeyeratne
Melbourne engineering graduates Selvam Sinnappan and Winston Wijeyeratne founded their Sleeping Duck mattress business in 2014.
Sinnappan and Wijeyeratne are estimated to be worth $170m each.
Sabri Suby
Melbourne-based digital marketing guru Sabri Suby started his King Kong business with just $50 from the bedroom of a rental property back in 2014. Now with an estimated wealth of $74m, Suby enjoyed the spotlight as a judge on the 2023 season of the Australian version of Shark Tank.
King Kong helps businesses get the internet and social media clicks they desire. Reports suggest King Kong has more than 200,000 customers in 136 different countries and has generated over $7.8bn in sales since its launch.
Suby and his wife, Shalini, have three young daughters.
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