The Australian Financial Review’s Rich List for 2022 is out featuring Australia’s richest and most influential people, including 10 Greek Australians.
Owner of WFM Motors, Director of Eagers Automative and Chairman of the NRL club, Sydney Roosters Nick Politis is high on the list, at #51 with a fortune of $2.23 billion. The Kytherian, being the most successful car salesman in Australia, has built an empire that includes dozens of his own car dealers in Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland.
Next, is Darwin’s Nicholas Paspaley, Executive Chairman of the Paspaley Group of Companies at #108. The family business, which turns deep-sea pearls into fine jewellery has amassed a fortune of $1.28 billion. Aside from the pearl retail business with 1200 employees, the group owns an aviation and marine services division, pastoral and tourism holdings, and a property portfolio.
Real-estate mogul Con Makris and family are sitting at $1.2 billion at #118. Mr Makris is Chairman of Makris Group and owns assets on the Gold Coast and shopping centres in Adelaide and Melbourne.
Nick Andrianakos and family, with $1.09 billion at #126 are behind Milemaker Petroleum and Nikos Property. A huge force in commercial real estate, the family owns many properties including 50 and 60 Flinders Street in Adelaide, they are also building a luxurious hotel in Nafplio, Greece. The Andrianakos family have also kept the freehold sites of many petrol stations.
The founder of one of Australia’s biggest backroom travel companies, Consolidated Travel, Spiros Alysandratos, has amassed a fortune of $995 million selling ticketing technology and services to airlines and travel agents as well as travel insurance products. He was named at #138.
Not far off, at #139, Dennis Bastas counts $990 million as the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Arrotex Pharmaceuticals. The company makes about one-third of the drugs dispensed under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and turns over $1.1 billion annually. With Canadian investors he also owns Juno Pharmaceuticals, which makes post-patent drugs for hospitals, and chairs genomics company myDNA.
Theo Karedis at #141 is the co-founder of Theo’s Liquor and Arkadia Property Group. Karedis’ fortune increased when Theo’s chain of bottle shops sold to Coles in 2002 for $175 million. His, property business Arkadia owns 25 retail properties around Australia.
Harry Stamoulis and family came in at #145 with fortune of $935 million. Stamoulis is a major property developer based in Melbourne and with projects around Australia. The Stamoulis family also own radio station 3XY and Greek newspaper Ta Nea. The road was carved out for Harry by his father the late Spiros Stamoulis, a once middleweight Greco-Roman wrestling champion, who became a sensation in Australia but turned businessman establishing Gold Medal Drinks in 1969.
At #170, sits George Koukis with a calculated worth of $788 million. Koukis was a Qantas employee who offered to computerise the airline’s managed accounting system. He founded Koukis Aviation software and IT company.
Kerry Harmanis at #175 has a fortune of $766 million and is a shareholder in several listed mining exploration companies in Western Australia.
Australia’s top 10 richest people includes: 1. Gina Rinehart – $34.02 billion, 2. Andrew Forrest – $30.72 billion, 3. Mike Cannon-Brookes – $27.83 billion, 4. Scott Farquhar – $26.41 billion, 5. Anthony Pratt & family – $24.30 billion, 6. Harry Triguboff – $21.25 billion, 7. Clive Palmer – $19.55 billion, 8. Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht – $13.80 billion, 9. Ivan Glasenberg – $12.20 billion, 10. Frank Lowy – $9.27 billion.
