The big debuts of the Rich 200

The BRW Rich 200 has never seen a debut quite like it. Ivan Glasenberg’s arrival on the list with a fortune of $8.8 billion breaks all rich list records for new members, and is unlikely to be surpassed any time soon.

But aside from the South African-born, Swiss-based Glencore chief executive, there are another 27 impressive new names on the list, ranging from media heir Lachlan Murdoch through to Frank Timis, the controversial Hungarian/Australian mining executive who has been convicted for heroin trafficking.

Let’s take a look at the 10 most interesting debuts and see what we can learn from their arrivals.

The biotech hero

One feature of the Rich 200 (and I don’t think it’s a positive one) is that many entrepreneurs come from traditional sectors – media, retail, property and manufacturing – and unlike rich lists in the United States, there are few tech stars or new economy entrepreneurs.

But Silviu Itescu’s stunning debut on the list – with a fortune of $560 million – is a step towards changing that. Shares in Itescu’s company Mesoblast have more than tripled in the last 12 months thanks to a deal with a big US biotech. That’s created a big personal windfall for Itescu and a success story for the Australian biotech sector.

Man’s best friend’s best friend

Dominating a domestic niche has always been a good way to get a spot on the Rich 200, which has again been proven by Christina and Tony Quinn, founders and owners of pet food business VIP Petfoods. The Gold Coast couple started the business in 1994 and has built a fortune around chilled pet food for what Tony freely acknowledges are “posh pets”. A great example of spotting a highly profitable niche.

For those about to rock…

Four of the new names on this year’s list appear due to BRW‘s decision to split out the members of the Wilson family – majority owners of listed plumbing supplies business Reece. However, the magazine has decided to lump three brothers from one family together in what surely must be the most rocking rich list entry in history – Angus and Malcom Young, guitarists with seminal rock band AC/DC, and their older brother George, a legendary songwriter who was himself a member of The Easybeats. The trio join with a fortune of $283 million, most of which flows from royalties and publishing rights to AC/DC’s music and performances. Anyone who attended the band’s Australian shows last year can attest to how slick the AC/DC moneymaking machine really is.

The lucky man

Gerry Ryan has had the sort of year to die for. In the last 12 months his horse, Americain, romped home to win the Melbourne Cup. A few months later, he was named as the highest-earning entertainer in Australia, thanks to his investment in the Walking with Dinosaurs stage show. Oh, and he also owns Australia’s largest caravan maker, Jayco, which is the cornerstone of his $317 million fortune. His year finished off nicely with a debut on the rich list, ranked 138th.

The technicolour character

Frank Timis is another new rich list member who joins the billionaire’s club by dent of his mining fortune, which is centred around Africa. His debut comes just over a year after the Australian Securities Exchange took the unusual step of banning Timis from taking major shareholdings and directorships in two listed companies, Global Iron and International Petroleum. The ban was later overturned, and both companies went on to list on the National Stock Exchange with Timis as a director.

However, documents lodged when Timis became a director highlight why controversy has followed him for years. Timis was convicted of heroin possession in his 20s, was bankrupted in 1984 and in 2002 he was banned from becoming a director of companies listed on the Toronto exchange. It’s a career that surely makes him one of the most colourful characters in rich list history.

The right-hand man

Ivan Glasenberg isn’t the only Glencore executive to join the Australian rich list – his right-hand-man Steven Kalmin has also rocketed onto the list with a fortune of $560 million.

Kalmin, who worked as a commodities trader in Sydney before heading for Switzerland in 2003, was appointed chief financial officer two years ago and now must assist Glasenberg in helping Glencore live up to the pre-float hype.

The underground man

Peter Bartlett, founder of underground mining services Baraminco, made his first fortune selling 70% of the company to private equity for $300 million in 2007. Now he stands to make another fortune if the company is sold in the coming months as has been mooted.

Clearly Bartlett has good sense of timing – hanging on for a few more years before selling out completely looks like a smart move.

Quenching a thirst

Seventy-four-year-old entrepreneur Peter Brookes appeared to have hit the jackpot last year when Japanese beverage giant Asahi bought his company P&N Beverages for $364 million. But the bid was rejected by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on competition grounds and now the business is back on the selling block. However, it is believed there is plenty of interest in the group so another deal might not be far away.

The mysterious farmer

Neil Statham makes his debut on the Rich 200 at the age of 77 with a fortune of $320 million. His wealth is based on beef and cotton (prices of the latter are particularly high at present) but he has had a long and fascinating career. After working as a boilermaker at BHP in Newcastle, he set up a business making prefabricated steel farm sheds. The business, which eventually became known as Ranbuild, was sold to BlueScope Steel in 2004, allowing Statham to concentrate on agriculture. Now that empire is up for sale for a reported $490 million.

The rising son

It’s been 15 years since Rupert Murdoch left the BRW Rich 200 after he took up US citizenship, but the Murdoch name returns this year in the form of Rupert’s son Lachlan, who holds joint US and Australian citizenship. Lachlan is worth $217 million, based around his stakes in DMG Radio and Ten Network. He now faces the challenge of making both businesses work in an environment where the media business model is being seriously challenged.