One of Australia's richest persons and a millionaire real estate developer is Harry Oskar Triguboff AO (born 3 March 1933).He is referred to as "high-rise Harry" and is the founder and managing director of Meriton. Triguboff was ranked fourth among Australians in terms of wealth as of May 2023, according to The Australian Financial Review, with an estimated net worth of A$23.80 billion (as reported in the 2023 Rich List). The 2016 Rich List valued Triguboff's net worth at A$11.62 billion, making him the richest Australian; however, he only held the title for one year. His net worth was assessed by Forbes to be $11.3 billion in 2021.
Early Life & Education
Triguboff was born in Dalian, Liaoning, Republic of China on March 3, 1933. His parents, Moshe and Frida, were Russian Jews. His father left the Russian Empire in 1916 to avoid anti-Semitism.
Triguboff was raised in the British and American concessions in Tianjin's Jewish neighbourhood. His father founded a business that dealt in leather, wool, and silk. The city was invaded by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1937, during the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The foreign concessions were at first unaffected, but after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, the British and American occupants were interned. The locals in Russia "seized the opportunity to take over trade into and out of China" after that. Triguboff's father created four more businesses, bought 20 flats, and even owned a vacation home in Beidaihe. He assisted in distributing the textiles that the Japanese had captured to customers in northern China. He was found guilty of collaborating with the Japanese in 1946, after the war had ended, for allegedly supplying leather products and scrap metal to the Japanese government. He was, however, exonerated on appeal to the Republic of China Supreme Court the following year.
After being denied visas to Canada and the United States in 1946, Triguboff's family was granted landing permits for Australia. In 1948, he and his brother were brought to Sydney, but the Australian government made an effort to keep them outside the nation due to worries about their father's involvement in the war. The Australian consul in Shanghai at the time, Osmond Charles Fuhrman, calculated their father's net worth to be up to US$4 million (equivalent to $49,000,000 in 2022) at the time. Triguboff eventually received permission to enter the nation and attended Scots College in Sydney for his education. After earning a textiles degree from the University of Leeds in England, he went on to work at textile companies in Israel and South Africa. He travelled back to Australia in 1950, and in 1961 he was granted citizenship there. He worked a number of odd jobs, such as managing a fleet of cabs and operating a milk delivery service in Chatswood. He attempted real estate sales and worked as a lecturer's assistant at the university, but neither endeavour was very fruitful for him. He then purchased a plot of land in Roseville and contracted a contractor to start work on his home. Triguboff was continually let down by the builder, so he fired him and completed the project himself, learning from his errors.
Net worth
Triguboff's personal net worth was pegged at A$23.80 billion on the 2023 Financial Review Rich List. In the meanwhile, Forbes Asia pegged his worth at $11.3 billion in 2021. Triguboff was ranked as the 262nd richest billionaire in the world in 2015 according to Forbes Asia magazine's annual billionaires list. Most of his properties are leased to both short- and long-term tenants, which generates income for him while also providing advantages from capital growth. Triguboff was one of ten Australians who has been on every Financial Review Rich List since it began in 1984, or on its predecessor, the BRW Rich 200, as of May 2023.
Career & Life
Triguboff purchased a second piece of property in 1963, this time on Smith Street, Tempe, and started construction of a block of eight units with a partner, using the knowledge he had gained from his first venture. As a result of his success, Gladesville saw a second development in 1968. Triguboff constructed an 18-unit complex at Meriton Street, revealing the name of the business he registered as a developer. The managing director of Meriton Apartments Pty Ltd. is Triguboff. Since its founding in 1963, Meriton has constructed more than 55,000 residential townhouses and flats, making it Australia's largest residential property developer. According to reports from 2010, Meriton built 1,000 residences on average yearly. The average now surpasses 3,000 annually as of 2015. Triguboff has built more flats than any other Australian residential developer, concentrating particularly on the Gold Coast and Brisbane in Queensland, as well as Sydney's CBD. He advocates for Australia's population to increase to 100 million people.
Since 1998, the business has sponsored both the Wests Tigers and its forerunner, the Balmain Tigers. Triguboff remained devoted to Meriton from the time of the club's merger in 2000 until 2015. Triguboff generously supports political parties and uses his position to push for legislative reforms. He suggested in August 2010 that the federal government force the Reserve Bank to lower interest rates in order to increase house affordability.