Harry Triguboff

Australian property developer and founder of Meriton (born 1933)

Hana Triguboff
​
(divorced)​
  • Rhonda Triguboff
    ​
    (m. 1980)​
    • Children2

    Harry Oskar Triguboff AO (born 3 March 1933) is a Chinese-born Australian billionaire real estate developer, and one of Australia's richest people.[1][2] He is the founder and managing director of Meriton and is known as "high-rise Harry".[3]

    As of May 2023[update], The Australian Financial Review assessed Triguboff as the fourth richest Australian by net worth, estimated at A$23.80 billion, as published in the 2023 Rich List.[4] Triguboff's net worth was assessed at A$11.62 billion in the 2016 Rich List, making him the richest Australian;[5] yet held the mantle for only one year.[6] In 2021, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$11.3 billion.[7]

    Early life and education

    Triguboff was born on 3 March 1933 in Dalian (Darien at the time), Liaoning, Republic of China. He was the son of Russian Jewish parents, Moshe and Frida.[8][9][10] His father moved to China in 1916 to escape antisemitism in the Russian Empire.[11]

    Triguboff grew up in the Jewish community in Tianjin, in the British and American concessions. His father established a store that traded wool, silk and leather. In 1937, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded the city. The foreign concessions were initially left untouched, but following the invasion of Pearl Harbor in 1941 the British and American residents were placed into internment camps. The Russian residents subsequently "seized the opportunity to take over trade in and out of China". Triguboff's father opened four more stores and acquired 20 apartments, as well as a summer residence in Beidaihe. He helped distribute the textiles that had been seized by the Japanese to buyers in northern China. In 1946, after the war's end, he was convicted of collaboration with the Japanese for allegedly selling leather goods and scrap metal to the Japanese government. However, the following year he was acquitted on appeal to the Supreme Court of the Republic of China.[11]

    In 1946, Triguboff's family obtained landing permits for Australia, after being refused visas to Canada and the United States. He and his brother were sent to Sydney in 1948, but the Australian government attempted to exclude them from the country over concerns about their father's war-time activities. Osmond Charles Fuhrman, the Australian consul in Shanghai at the time, estimated that their father had a net worth of up to US$4 million (equivalent to $51,000,000 in 2023).[11] Triguboff was ultimately allowed into the country and was educated at the Scots College, Sydney. He later graduated with a degree in textiles from the University of Leeds in England, before working in textile businesses in Israel and South Africa.[12]

    He returned to Australia in 1950 and became an Australian citizen in 1961. He did a variety of odd jobs, including running a taxi fleet and owning a milk round in Chatswood. He tried selling real estate and worked as an assistant to a lecturer at university but wasn't so successful at either. He then bought some land in Roseville and hired a builder to begin building his house. The builder repeatedly let him down, so Triguboff threw him out and finished the job himself, learning from his mistakes.[13]

    Career

    From the experience gained in his initial development, Triguboff bought his second block of land in 1963, this time in Smith Street, Tempe, and began building a block of eight units with a partner.[14] He made a profit, which led to a second development in 1968 in Gladesville. At Meriton Street, Triguboff built a block of 18 units which provided the name of the company he registered in developers.

    Triguboff is the managing director of Meriton Apartments Pty Ltd. As of 2015[update], Meriton had built more than 55,000 residential townhouses and apartments since its creation in 1963,[15] making it Australia's biggest residential property developer.[16] In 2010, Meriton was said to develop an average of 1,000 apartments per year.[17] As of 2015[update], the average exceeds 3,000 per annum.[15] In particular, Triguboff has concentrated on the Gold Coast and Brisbane in Queensland, and Sydney's central business district, building more apartments than any other Australian residential developer.[18] He is a proponent that the population of Australia should grow to reach 100 million.[19]

    In 2004, Meriton completed the construction of World Tower, Sydney's tallest residential apartment building. During 2012, Meriton and the owners' corporation became embroiled in a long running court dispute over major building defects and alleged breaches of their contract, with maintenance issues worth more than A$1 million.[20] Part of the issue related to Meriton, the original builder, being locked out of the development.[21] By 2015, He had built approximately 55,000 residential townhouses and apartments.

    The company has been a sponsor of the Wests Tigers (and their predecessor, Balmain Tigers) since 1998.[22] Triguboff committed Meriton throughout the club's merger period of 2000 and into 2015.[23]

    In Sept. 2023, Triguboff opened a new Meriton hotel, bringing the business to have an estimated value of $ 7.2bn. It was also the largest Australian owned and operated hotel company.[24]

    In Jun. 2023, under Triguboff, Meriton renewed plans to build up to 1,600 homes in Little Bay near Sydney, on land it had previously purchased for around $ 250 million.[25] For years, the development proposal had faced "some public opposition" concerning how the area would be developed, while Triguboff had been lobbying local government.[26]

    In Sept. 2023, at age 90, Triguboff oversaw new hotels opening for the first time in Canberra and Melbourne, as well as a new hotel in Liverpool near Sydney, bringing Meriton Suites to 6204 apartment suites and 23 properties.[27] Meriton Suites had invested $ 400 million in the three new hotel properties.[28] A new three tower apartment complex was approved for Surfers Paradise in Oct. 2023.[29]

    He was worth $ 23.6 billion in 2023, on The Australian's Richest 250 list for that year.[30]

    He was named to the Financial Review Rich List of 2023.[31]

    Politics and lobbying

    Triguboff donates heavily to political parties and uses his influence to seek policy changes. In August 2010, he proposed that the federal government should insist on Reserve Bank interest rates being dropped to improve housing affordability.[32]

    Personal life

    Triguboff is Jewish.[8] He has been married twice and has two daughters from his first marriage,[33] Orna and Sharon.[34] He is married to his second wife, Rhonda.[9] He lives in Sydney and owns a collection of cars.[citation needed]

    Net worth

    According to the 2023 Financial Review Rich List, Triguboff's personal net wealth was estimated at A$23.80 billion.[4][35] Meanwhile, Forbes Asia estimated his wealth in 2021 at US$11.3 billion.[7] In 2015, Forbes Asia magazine's annual billionaires list assessed Triguboff as the world's 262nd wealthiest billionaire.[36][15] His earnings result from leasing most of his developments to short and long term tenants, with benefits from capital appreciation. As of May 2023[update], Triguboff was one of ten Australians who have appeared in every Financial Review Rich List, or its predecessor, the BRW Rich 200, since it was first published in 1984.[4][37]

    Triguboff participated in a 2010 Business Review Weekly magazine contest to "Win a Week With a Billionaire". Three young finalists were flown to Sydney where they spent a week at Meriton being mentored by Triguboff.[38]

    Year AFR Rich 200 Forbes Australia's 50 Richest
    Rank Net worth (A$) Rank Net worth (US$)
    2011[39][40] 7 Decrease $4.30 billion Increase 5 $3.40 billion Increase
    2012[41][42] 7 Steady $4.85 billion Increase 5 Steady $5.80 billion Increase
    2013[43][44] 6 Increase $4.95 billion Increase 6 Decrease $4.60 billion Decrease
    2014[45][46] 8 Decrease $5.50 billion Increase 7 Decrease $4.30 billion Decrease
    2015[47][2][15] 3 Increase $10.23 billion Increase 2 Increase $5.6 billion Increase
    2016[5][48] 1 Increase $10.62 billion Increase 3 Decrease $6.90 billion Increase
    2017[6][49] 2 Decrease $11.40 billion Increase 2 Increase $9.90 billion Increase
    2018[50][48] 2 Steady $12.77 billion Increase 2 Steady
    2019[51][52] 3 Decrease $13.54 billion Increase 2 Steady $9.00 billion Increase
    2020[53] 7 Decrease $14.42 billion Increase
    2021[54][7] 6 Increase $17.27 billion Increase $11.30 billion Increase
    2022 6 Steady $21.20 billion Increase
    2023[4] 4 Increase $23.80 billion Increase
    Legend
    Icon Description
    Steady Has not changed from the previous year
    Increase Has increased from the previous year
    Decrease Has decreased from the previous year

    Honours

    Triguboff was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia on 26 January 1990 "for service to building and construction and for philanthropy"[55] and an Officer of the Order on 7 June 1999 "for service to the community as a philanthropist, and to the residential construction industry".[56][57]

    Triguboff was the first person to win Australia's Property Person of the Year award twice; he first won the award in 2003 and then again in 2009.[58]

    Philanthropy

    Harry Triguboff Family Corner House, Moriah College, Sydney

    Triguboff, via The Harry Triguboff Foundation, funded a project at the Shorashim Center to assist immigrant applicants to Israel in proving their Jewishness.[34][59]

    References

    1. ^ "Gina Rinehart Retains Top Spot On Forbes Australia Rich List". Forbes. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
    2. ^ a b "2015 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. March 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
    3. ^ "Australia's 40 Richest, #3 Harry Triguboff". Forbes. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
    4. ^ a b c d Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (26 May 2023). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
    5. ^ a b "BRW rich list topped by Harry Triguboff, Gina Rinehart slips to fourth". ABC News. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
    6. ^ a b Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2017). "Financial Review Rich List 2017". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
    7. ^ a b c "Harry Triguboff". Forbes. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
    8. ^ a b Encel, Sol; Rutland, Suzanne D. (2008). "Australian Jewry". In Ehrlich, M. Avrum (ed.). The Jewish-Chinese Nexus: A Meeting of Civilizations. London: Routledge. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-415-45715-6.
    9. ^ a b "'High-Rise Harry' now climbed to the sixth in Australia's Richest. How does he do it?" By Orna Taub, Jewish Business News, 3 March 2013
    10. ^ World's Most Successful Immigrants at Bloomberg Business
    11. ^ a b c Winestock, Geoff (8 December 2017). "Harry Triguboff's secret past: the 19-year struggle that split his family". The Australian Financial Review Magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
    12. ^ Smyth, Jamie (20 August 2017). "Meriton's Harry Triguboff on being Australia's second-richest man". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
    13. ^ "How to say I or me 77 times in explaining how I became a billionaire". The Daily Telegraph. 5 May 1997.
    14. ^ Triguboff, Harry (1 August 2006). "Interview with Harry Triguboff". Domain (Interview: edited transcript). Interviewed by Tyron Hyde. reproduced at the Washington Brown Group. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
    15. ^ a b c d Schmidt, Lucinda (February 2015). "Riding the Real Estate Boom". Forbes Asia. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
    16. ^ Akerman, Pia (7 January 2010). "Priest David Cappo calls for rethink on housing the homeless". The Australian.
    17. ^ Carter, Bridget (11 March 2010). "Sydney residential projects of bn in play". The Australian.
    18. ^ "Triguboff's Meriton tops HIA's building starts table/". The Australian. 25 September 2013.
    19. ^ "Triguboff and the new Great Australian Dream". Sydney Morning Herald. Bloomberg News. 24 November 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
    20. ^ Tan, Su-Lin (7 January 2013). "$1m claim for defects at World Square site". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
    21. ^ Tan, Su-Lin (5 January 2013). "Meriton's war of World Tower". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
    22. ^ Gibson, Joel; Dick, Tim (6 December 2005). "Balls and whistles". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
    23. ^ Proszenko, Adrian (29 July 2014). "Harry Triguboff extends sponsorship deal with Wests Tigers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
    24. ^ "Aussie billionaire, 90, grows Meriton hotel portfolio to $7.2 billion". Retrieved 8 February 2024.
    25. ^ "Meriton renews plans to build up to 1,600 homes in Sydney's east". www.abc.net.au. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
    26. ^ "Emails show how billionaire tried to fast-track rezoning of Sydney precinct as angry locals fight plans". ABC News. 24 June 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
    27. ^ "90yo Harry Triguboff kicks off $400m hotel expansion". Australian Financial Review. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
    28. ^ Weekly, Travel (25 August 2023). "Meriton Suites invests $400m+ in three new AUS hotels". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
    29. ^ "Surfers Paradise triple tower complex gets green light from council". ABC News. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
    30. ^ "Aussie billionaire, 90, grows Meriton hotel portfolio to $7.2 billion". Retrieved 8 February 2024.
    31. ^ "Topic | Rich List". Australian Financial Review. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
    32. ^ Kitney, Damon (27 August 2010). "Meriton's Harry Triguboff calls for new poll, rate cuts". The Australian. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
    33. ^ Kitney, Damon (21 March 2011). "Harry Triguboff wonders how to hand down the family firm". The Australian.
    34. ^ a b "Triguboff organisation almost doubles Jewishness investigations". J-Wire. 2 October 2012. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
    35. ^ Stensholt, John (28 May 2015). "Down $6b but Gina Rinehart remains richest Australian in BRW Rich 200". Business Review Weekly. Australia: Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
    36. ^ "The World's Billionaires: Harry Triguboff". Forbes. 2015.
    37. ^ Thomson, James (22 May 2013). "Celebrating 30 years of the Rich 200". BRW Rich 200. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
    38. ^ Douglas, Jeanne-Vida (10 September 2010). "A priceless experience". Australian Financial Review.
    39. ^ McIntyre, David (26 May 2011). "Newsmaker: Gina Rinehart". news.com.au. AAP. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
    40. ^ "Chinese abandon Triguboff's Meriton Apartments". The Australian. 21 April 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
    41. ^ Jackson, Sally (23 May 2012). "The $29.17 billion woman: Gina Rinehart tops BRW's Rich List". The Australian. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
    42. ^ "2012 Australia's 40 Richest". Forbes Asia. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
    43. ^ Colquhoun, Steve; Heathcote, Andrew (22 May 2013). "Rinehart drops more than Lowy's entire worth". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
    44. ^ "2013 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
    45. ^ "BRW Rich 200 list 2014". BRW (A Fairfax Media Publication). Sydney. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.[permanent dead link]
    46. ^ "2014 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. January 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
    47. ^ "BRW Rich 200 List 2015: Harry Triguboff". Business Review Weekly. Australia: Fairfax Media. May 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
    48. ^ a b "Australia's 50 Richest People". Forbes. 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
    49. ^ "Australia's Richest 2017: Country's Wealthiest Continue Mining For Dollars". Forbes Asia. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
    50. ^ Stensholt, John (25 May 2018). "2018 AFR Rich List: Who are Australia's richest people?". The Australian Financial Review. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
    51. ^ Bailey, Michael (30 May 2019). "Australia's 200 richest people revealed". The Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
    52. ^ "2019 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. January 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
    53. ^ Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (30 October 2020). "The full list: Australia's wealthiest 200 revealed". The Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
    54. ^ Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (27 May 2021). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
    55. ^ "Harry Oscar Triguboff AM". Commonwealth of Australia. 26 January 1990. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
    56. ^ "Harry Oscar Triguboff AO". Commonwealth of Australia. 7 June 1999. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
    57. ^ Goldberg, Dan (1 December 2007). "Harry in a hurry". The Bulletin. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
    58. ^ "Bob Rose AM | Property Person of the Year 2010". Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
    59. ^ Jerusalem Post: "Religious Affairs: A crisis of identity" By JEREMY SHARON 20 September 2012

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