8 Greeks make the Australian Financial Review Rich List 2020. One Kefallonian among them.

Nicholas Paspaley

83rd place: Nicholas Paspaley & family (1.25 billion dollars)

“Vogue Australia has listed Paspaley as one of five brands coveted by Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, igniting more interest in the brand. Pearls now account for less than half the revenue in the broader Paspaley Group, which has interests in livestock, a fleet of planes and property. The pearling company was founded by the late Nicholas Paspaley snr, who fled the Greek island of Kastellorizo in World War I and settled on the West Australian coast. Working in Port Hedland and Broome, he purchased his own pearl lugger by the age of 21. His three children – Nicholas Paspaley jnr; Roslynne Bracher and Marilynne Paspaley – now own the company.”

Spiros Alysandratos

124th place: Spiros Alysandratos (798 million dollars)

“Consolidated Travel, which Spiros Alysandratos founded in 1967 after emigrating to Melbourne from the Greek isle of Kefalonia, is one of 1500 or so private companies exempted from having to lodge financial accounts. But when your business is selling airline ticketing technology to travel agents, in 2020 there is nowhere to hide. IBISWorld estimates Consolidated Travel’s revenue fell 16 per cent to $1.25 billion in 2019-20. Alysandratos is bearish on the travel sector, declining to participate in a capital raising for travel company Helloworld Travel and selling shares, which saw his stake fall to 13.76 per cent between May and July.”

Harry Stamoulis

126th place: Harry Stamoulis & family (793 million dollars)

“The Stamoulis Property Group came into its own when the late Spiros Stamoulis sold his Gold Medal soft-drink brand to Cadbury-Schweppes in 2004. The company is now overseen by his son Harry, with major acquisitions including the $91 million Woolworths distribution facility in the Melbourne suburb of Mulgrave and the $125 million One Collins Street tower in the CBD. Harry’s sister Melina oversees the family-owned Nafsika Stamoulis Hellenic Museum. A passionate soccer fan, having served as a director of Melbourne Victory, Harry remains involved in a venture to bring an A-League team to Tasmania.”

Theo Karedis

131st place: Theo Karedis (775 million dollars)

“The website of Theo Karedis’ Arkadia Property Services still carries its pre-pandemic self-assessment of the worth of its 25 properties: $900 million. Given half of them are malls or large-format neighbourhood centres, it remains to be seen how much value has been permanently chopped off by e-commerce. Arkadia was founded by Karedis after the $175 million sale of his Theo’s Liquor bottle shops to Coles in 2002, following a bidding war with Woolworths. Karedis migrated from the Greek island of Kythira, opening a deli in Sydney’s Neutral Bay in 1955. He applied for his first in-store liquor licence in 1979.”

George Koukis

146th place: George Koukis (715 million dollars)

“Banking software is not sexy but it’s made a fortune for George Koukis, who migrated from Greece in 1971 with $140 to his name. He got a job as a Qantas “office boy” in 1973, and his break came when he volunteered to computerise the airline’s managed accounting system. In 1993, he paid $948,000 for a small Swiss banking software maker, renamed it Temenos, and built it up with the help of venture capital to a 2001 float at a $2.1 billion valuation. Koukis has gradually sold off his holding to below 3 per cent. He left the board in April. His eponymous aviation software business claims more than 100 installations worldwide.”

Kerry Harmanis

154th place: Kerry Harmanis (690 million dollars)

“Kerry Harmanis wasted little time in his return to public life since selling Jubilee Mines to resources giant Xstrata for $500 million in 2007. The long-time investor in gold explorer Talisman Mining became its chairman in July. By September a new CEO was in the chair and corporate costs cut. Talisman shares have been flat over the past year despite a roaring gold sector. It’s a different story for Harmanis’ investment in Capricorn Metals, which is developing a gold project in WA. Its shares have doubled this year. Harmanis, a meditation devotee, set up Mindful Meditation Australia which sells workshops to businesses and schools.”

Εστάλη στην ΟΔΥΣΣΕΙΑ, 3/11/2020 #ODUSSEIA #ODYSSEIA, Eύα ΠαπαδάτουÂ