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{{short description|Canadian-Australian businessman|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{short description|Canadian-Australian businessman|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Infobox person
{{tone|date=October 2012}}
| name = Jack Cowin<!-- use common name/article title -->
{{More footnotes|date=July 2012}}
| image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [[brackets]] -->
| alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption =
| birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1942|07|13|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Windsor, Ontario]], Canada
| death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) -->
| death_place =
| nationality = {{ubl|[[Canadian]]|[[Australia]]n}}
| other_names =
| occupation = {{ubl|Entrepreneur|Executive Chairman}}
| boards = {{ubl|[[Competitive Foods Australia]]|Consolidated Foods|Domino’s Pizza Enterprises|[[BridgeClimb Sydney]]}}
| years_active =
| known_for = Founder of [[Hungry Jack's]]
| notable_works =
| children = 4
| spouse = Sharon Cowin
| alma_mater = [[University of Western Ontario]]
| office = [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of the [[University of Western Ontario]]
| term = {{start date|2015|10|22|df=y}}{{endash}}{{end date|2019|05|23|df=y}}
| predecessor =
| successor = [[Linda Hasenfratz]]
}}
}}

{{Infobox Person
'''Jack Cowin''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|aʊ|ɪ|n}}, born 13 July 1942) is a Canadian-Australian businessman and entrepreneur with a long-term involvement in [[Fast food restaurant|franchised fast food chains]] in Australia and Canada. Cowin brought [[KFC]] to Australia, founded and owns [[Hungry Jack's]], which is the [[Burger King]] franchise in Australia,<ref name="canadia">{{Cite web|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/story-of-a-shattered-life-a-single-childhood-incident-pushed-dawn-crey-into-a-downward-spiral|title=Story of a shattered life: A single childhood incident pushed Dawn Crey into a downward spiral &#124; Vancouver Sun|date=November 24, 2001}}</ref> and has at various stages controlled the [[Domino's Pizza]] franchise in Australia prior to its 2005 listing on the [[Australian Securities Exchange|ASX]].
| name = Jack Cowin

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1943}}
Cowin also has an ownership stake in the Lone Star Texas Grill restaurant chain in Canada, with upstream Australian investments in [[cattle stations]] and food processing.<ref name=Olijnyk/> Cowin is the Executive Chairman of [[Competitive Foods Australia]], one of Australia's largest privately held businesses.<ref>{{cite web|title=Profile: Jack Cowin|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/jack-cowin/|website=[[Forbes]]|access-date=12 December 2017}}</ref> Cowin has also been an investor in Australia's [[Network Ten|Ten Network]], serving as a non-executive director.<ref name=Olijnyk/><ref name=CACC/>
| birth_place = [[Windsor, Ontario]], Canada

| occupation = Entrepreneur;<br/>{{nowrap|Executive Chairman of [[Competitive Foods Australia]]}}
Cowin served as the [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of the [[University of Western Ontario]] from 2015 until 2019.
| known_for = Founder of [[Hungry Jack's]]
| children = 4
| spouse =
| net_worth = {{unbulleted list|{{gain}} {{AUD}}2.79&nbsp;[[1,000,000,000|bn]] {{small|([[Financial Review Rich List 2019|AFR 2019]])}}<ref name="afr2019"/>|{{gain}} {{USD}}1.7&nbsp;bn {{small|(''[[Forbes Asia|Forbes]]'' [[List of Australians by net worth|2019]])}}<ref name="Forbes2019"/>}}
}}
'''Jack Cowin''' (born 1943) is a Canadian-Australian businessman who owns [[Hungry Jack's]], the [[Burger King]] franchise in Australia<ref name="canadia">{{Cite web|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/story-of-a-shattered-life-a-single-childhood-incident-pushed-dawn-crey-into-a-downward-spiral|title=Story of a shattered life: A single childhood incident pushed Dawn Crey into a downward spiral &#124; Vancouver Sun|date=November 24, 2001}}</ref> and is the Executive Chairman of [[Competitive Foods Australia]], one of the country's largest privately held businesses.<ref>{{cite web|title=Profile: Jack Cowin|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/jack-cowin/|website=[[Forbes]]|accessdate=12 December 2017}}</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==
Born in [[Windsor, Ontario]], Canada in 1943, his father had been posted to Australia briefly by [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] and later encouraged his son to consider emigrating there.<ref name="canadia"/>
Cowin was born on 13 July 1942<ref name=CACC/> in [[Windsor, Ontario]], Canada. His father, Stanley J. Cowin, was posted to Australia briefly by [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] and later encouraged his son to consider emigrating there.<ref name="canadia"/>

As a child he was a [[mower]] and [[paperboy]]. As [[Student|college student]], he sold trees, shrubs and [[nursing]] stocks.<ref>{{cite news |last1= Siu|first1= Ernestline|title=He bought a KFC store in Australia for $100,000 in 1969|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/09/he-bought-a-kfc-franchise-now-his-company-is-worth-over-3-billion.html |accessdate=December 11, 2024 |work=[[CNBC]] |date=December 8, 2024}}</ref>Cowin graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] from the [[University of Western Ontario]] in 1964.<ref name=CACC/><ref name=UWO/>


==Career==
==Career==
Cowin became an insurance salesman with [[London Life Insurance Company|London Life]] for four years in [[Toronto]] before deciding to visit Australia to assess some business opportunities. Seeing long queues at a Chinese takeaway restaurant while vacationing in [[Sydney]], he became convinced that fast food would sell well. Aged 26 years, Cowin returned to Australia to evaluate expanding Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) into the market that at that stage had limited fast food options.<ref name=CACC/>
{{BLP sources section|date=July 2012}}
He became an insurance salesman with [[London Life Insurance Company|London Life]] for four years in [[Toronto]] before deciding to visit Australia to assess some business opportunities. Seeing long queues at a Chinese takeaway restaurant while vacationing in [[Sydney]], he became convinced that fast food would sell well. He later returned to Australia to evaluate expanding [[KFC]] into the market that at that stage had limited fast food options.


He bought the right to open ten KFC franchises in [[Western Australia]], raised {{CAD}}10,000 each from thirty Canadians to launch the business in December 1969,<ref name=Olijnyk>{{cite news |author=Olijnyk, Zena |url=http://www.canadianbusiness.com/after_hours/lifestyle_activities/article.jsp?content=20051205_72930_72930 |title=Jack Cowin — The Burger King |work=Canadian Business Magazine |date=5 December 2005 |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060318021443/http://www.canadianbusiness.com/after_hours/lifestyle_activities/article.jsp?content=20051205_72930_72930 |archive-date=18 March 2006 }}</ref> having moved with his wife and young child. {{as of|2006|03}}, those initial investors had an investment worth approximately {{AUD}}8.9&nbsp;million.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} After opening eight KFC outlets, he bought the rights to Burger King.<ref name="Cowin">{{cite interview |last=Cowin |first=Jack |interviewer=billionairepal |title=Control Your Destiny - BILLIONAIRE Jack Cowin in Interview - "The Billion Dollar Secret" Book Launch |url=https://d.tube/#!/v/billionairepal/ix9v1xje |archive-url=http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20180209204323/https://d.tube/#!/v/billionairepal/ix9v1xje |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 9, 2018 |format=Streaming video |work=D.tube |date=11 June 2019 |access-date=20 December 2020 }}</ref>
He bought the right to open ten KFC franchises in [[Western Australia]], raised $10,000 from each of thirty people to launch the business in December 1969, having moved with his wife and young child. Those who invested $10,000 then, had an investment worth around $8.9 million as of March 2006. After opening eight KFC outlets, he bought the rights to [[Burger King]]. They both{{Who|date=January 2020}} later discovered someone else had the rights to the Burger King trademark in Australia, so Cowin instead called the outlets [[Hungry Jack's]]. Many years later he had a falling out with Burger King over the name and other issues related to their franchise agreement which was eventually resolved in his favour. He talks about this in an interview<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://d.tube/#!/v/billionairepal/ix9v1xje|title=DTube|website=d.tube}}</ref> for ''The Billion Dollar Secret'' book to which Cowin contributed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thebilliondollarsecret.com/|title=The Billion Dollar Secret – 20 Principles of Billionaire Wealth and Success – by Rafael Badziag}}</ref>


Cowin later discovered someone else had the rights to the Burger King trademark in Australia, so Cowin instead called the outlets Hungry Jack's. Many years later he had a falling out with Burger King over the name and other issues related to their franchise agreement which was eventually resolved in his favour. He talks about this in an interview<ref name="Cowin"/> for ''The Billion Dollar Secret'' book to which Cowin contributed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thebilliondollarsecret.com/|title=The Billion Dollar Secret – 20 Principles of Billionaire Wealth and Success |first=Rafael |last=Badziag}}</ref>
The business Competitive Foods Australia continues to be privately held by his family, with an estimated value of $350 million.{{when?|date=September 2019}}


In 1999 [[Burger King Corporation v Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd|Cowin took action against Burger King Corp.]] in the [[Supreme Court of New South Wales]]. Cowin alleged that Burger King attempted to terminate Hungry Jack's contract on the grounds that the Australian franchisee was not opening new units as fast as was required under the agreement. In response, Cowin's Hungry Jack's sued Burger King for breach of contract, alleging that the chain had no legal grounds for terminating the contract.<ref name="acoc"/>
Cowin also owns Consolidated Foods, a meat processing business that exports throughout the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/hungry-jack-cowins-recipe-for-success-20151216-glorvb.html|title='Hungry' Jack Cowin's recipe for success|last=Mitchell|first=Sue|date=2015-12-17|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107121702/https://www.smh.com.au/business/hungry-jack-cowins-recipe-for-success-20151216-glorvb.html|archive-date=2020-01-07|access-date=2020-01-07}}</ref> Cowin sold a substantial investment in [[Stanbroke Pastoral Company]], one of the country's biggest [[cattle station]] operators. Cowin is also an investor in the Lone Star restaurant chain in Canada.


The NSW Supreme Court ordered Burger King Corp. to pay {{AUD}}45&nbsp;million to Hungry Jack's Ltd. for lost profits from delayed restaurant openings, inability to sell third-party franchises, and cannibalization by the chain's corporate-owned locations. Burger King appealed the matter to the [[New South Wales Court of Appeal]], and on 21 June 2001, the appeal was dismissed and Burger King Corp. was ordered to pay Hungry Jack's {{AUD}}71&nbsp;million in [[damages]].<ref name="acoc">{{cite book |last=Ellinghaus |first=M. P. |title=Australian Cases on Contract |edition=6th |publisher=Code Press |year=2005 |location=[[Melbourne]] |pages=610–619 |isbn=978-0-9577941-5-3 }}</ref>
== Philanthropy, wealth, and personal life ==
Cowin was listed on the Australian [[Financial Review Rich List|BRW Rich 200]] list at number 70 in 2008,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/archive/news/jack-sells-back-barossa-corker/news-story/0c2ef71b75cc98a5a7388762b1d798c6|title=Jack sells back Barossa corker|date=September 3, 2008|website=www.dailytelegraph.com.au}}</ref> and 79 in 2009, and had an estimated net worth of A$486m{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} and an estimated value of A$538m in 2010.<ref name="SMH">{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/franchising/sundae-bloody-sundae-20100809-11u0x.html|title=Sundae, bloody sundae|date=2010-08-10|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|accessdate=2010-09-11|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Cowin was ascribed a net worth of A$1.8bn (24th) in the 2016 BRW Rich 200.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.insideretail.com.au/blog/2016/05/27/retailers-named-on-2016-brw-rich-200-list/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828091436/https://www.insideretail.com.au/blog/2016/05/27/retailers-named-on-2016-brw-rich-200-list/ |archive-date=2016-08-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Despite this, in 2017, he has been noted for his miserliness with regards to weekend worker penalty rates within Australia, regarding them as a "thing of the past".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/hungry-jack-cowins-solution-to-penalty-rate-standoff-20151217-glphv7.html|title='Hungry' Jack Cowin's solution to penalty rate stand-off|last=Mitchell|first=Sue|date=December 17, 2015|website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> In 2019 the [[Financial Review Rich List|''Financial Review'' Rich List]], the successor of the BRW Rich 200, assessed Cowin's [[net worth]] at {{AUD}}2.79&nbsp;[[1,000,000,000|bn]]; and was ranked as the 25th richest Australian.<ref name="afr2019">{{cite web|url=https://www.afr.com/rich-list/australia-s-10-wealthiest-people-revealed-20190529-p51sj0|title=Australia's 200 richest people revealed|last=Bailey|first=Michael|date=30 May 2019|work=The Australian Financial Review|publisher=Nine Publishing|accessdate=31 May 2019}}</ref> Meanwhile, ''[[Forbes Asia]]'' assessed Cowin's net worth as {{USD}}1.7&nbsp;bn in 2019; and he was ranked as the 23rd [[List of Australians by net worth|richest Australian by net worth]].<ref name="Forbes2019">{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/australia-billionaires/list/#tab:overall|title=2019 Australia's 50 Richest|date=January 2019|work=Forbes Asia|accessdate=28 September 2019}}</ref>


The business Competitive Foods Australia continues to be privately held by his family, with an estimated value of $350 million.{{when|date=September 2019}} In 2017, Cowin advocated for the elimination of weekend worker penalty rates within Australia, regarding them as a "thing of the past".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/hungry-jack-cowins-solution-to-penalty-rate-standoff-20151217-glphv7.html|title='Hungry' Jack Cowin's solution to penalty rate stand-off|last=Mitchell|first=Sue|date=17 December 2015|website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]}}</ref>
In September 2015, Cowin was named the 22nd [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of the [[University of Western Ontario]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://westerngazette.ca/news/western-names-jack-cowin-as-nd-chancellor/article_1431a8ad-26df-54f7-8d2f-0240729ab75e.html|title=Western names Jack Cowin as 22nd chancellor|last=Zollino|first=Olivia|date=September 10, 2015|website=The Gazette|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107130052/https://westerngazette.ca/news/western-names-jack-cowin-as-nd-chancellor/article_1431a8ad-26df-54f7-8d2f-0240729ab75e.html|archive-date=2020-01-07|access-date=2020-01-07}}</ref> He made a donation to the [[University of Western Ontario]] to pay for the stands of the new football field, named after his father Stanley J. Cowin.


Cowin also owns Consolidated Foods, a meat processing business that exports throughout the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/hungry-jack-cowins-recipe-for-success-20151216-glorvb.html|title='Hungry' Jack Cowin's recipe for success|last=Mitchell|first=Sue|date=2015-12-17|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107121702/https://www.smh.com.au/business/hungry-jack-cowins-recipe-for-success-20151216-glorvb.html|archive-date=2020-01-07|access-date=2020-01-07}}</ref> Cowin sold a substantial investment in [[Stanbroke Pastoral Company]], one of the country's biggest cattle station operators. Cowin is also an investor in the Lone Star Texas Grill restaurant chain in Canada.<ref name=CACC>{{cite news |url=http://canadianaustralianchamberofcommerce.wildapricot.org/about-us |title=CACC Patron: Mr. Jack Cowin |publisher=Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce |date=n.d. |access-date=20 December 2020 }}</ref> Cowin in a major shareholder in RCX (Rail Crew Express), a US transportation company based in Kansas that operates 1,000 vehicles as a crew hauling service to the major railway operators.<ref name=CACC/>
Cowin is an active member of the World Presidents Organization. He lives in Sydney with his wife, with whom he has had four children.

Cowin has served as a non-executive director of the TEN Television Network, Chandler MacLeod, [[Sydney Olympic Park Authority]], and [[Fairfax Media]].<ref name=UWO>{{cite web |url=http://www.giving.westernu.ca/the-campaign/extraordinary-alumni/jack-cowin.html |title=Jack Cowin, BA'64, LLD'00 |work=Extraordinary Alumni |publisher=[[University of Western Ontario]] |date=2020 |access-date=20 December 2020 }}</ref> He is the Chairman and largest shareholder of Domino’s Pizza Enterprises. He also is a Director and 40% shareholder of [[BridgeClimb Sydney]] – operator of a major Sydney tourist attraction.<ref name=CACC/>

== Personal life ==
Cowin lives in Sydney with his wife, Sharon,<ref name=UWO/> with whom he has had four children.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Cowin |first=Jack |subject2=Ross, Julia |subject3=Cave, Paul |subject4=May, Don |interviewer=Katrina Nicholas |title=The father of fast food |url=http://businesssunday.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=50390 |format=transcript |work=Business Sunday |publisher=[[NineMSN]] |location=Australia |date=15 May 2005 |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060226000143/http://businesssunday.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=50390 |archive-date=26 February 2006 |quote=Personally I’ve been married for thirty nine years and my wife still talks to me. You know, people find that somewhat surprising probably. So that, raising four children, that’s a challenge, business wise I think it is probably competing against big companies that have a different philosophy. }}</ref>

In 2000, his ''[[alma mater]]'', the University of Western Ontario, conferred Cowin with the award of [[Doctor of Law]] (''[[honoris causa]]'').<ref name=CACC/> Cowin served as the 22nd [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of the University from September 2015<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://westerngazette.ca/news/western-names-jack-cowin-as-nd-chancellor/article_1431a8ad-26df-54f7-8d2f-0240729ab75e.html|title=Western names Jack Cowin as 22nd chancellor|last=Zollino|first=Olivia|date=September 10, 2015|website=The Gazette|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107130052/https://westerngazette.ca/news/western-names-jack-cowin-as-nd-chancellor/article_1431a8ad-26df-54f7-8d2f-0240729ab75e.html|archive-date=2020-01-07|access-date=2020-01-07}}</ref> until May 2019.<ref>{{Cite press release|url=https://mediarelations.uwo.ca/2019/05/23/linda-hasenfratz-named-westerns-23rd-chancellor/|title=Linda Hasenfratz named Western's 23rd Chancellor|publisher=University of Western Ontario|author=Department of Communications and Public Affairs|date=2019-05-23|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-17}}</ref> He gifted funds to the University to pay for stands for the new football field, that was named in honour of his father, Stanley J. Cowin.

Cowin is an active member of the World Presidents Organization.

=== Net worth ===
{{as of|2023|05}}, the [[net worth]] of Cowin was assessed by the [[Financial Review Rich List|''Financial Review'' Rich List]] at {{AUD}}4.36&nbsp;[[1,000,000,000|billion]]; and was ranked as the 22nd richest Australian.<ref name="afr2023"/> Meanwhile, ''[[Forbes Asia]]'' assessed Cowin's net worth as {{USD}}1.7&nbsp;billion in 2019; and he was ranked as the 23rd [[List of Australians by net worth|richest Australian by net worth]].<ref name="Forbes2019"/>

{{columns-start}}
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan=2 | Year
! colspan=2 | ''[[The Australian Financial Review|Financial Review]]''<br />[[Financial Review Rich List|Rich List]]
! colspan=2 | ''[[Forbes Asia|Forbes]]''<br />[[List of Australians by net worth|Australia's 50 Richest]]
|-
! Rank
! [[Net worth]] ([[AUD|A$]])
! Rank
! {{nowrap|[[Net worth]] ([[USD|US$]])}}
|-
| 2008<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/archive/news/jack-sells-back-barossa-corker/news-story/0c2ef71b75cc98a5a7388762b1d798c6|title=Jack sells back Barossa corker|date=September 3, 2008|website=www.dailytelegraph.com.au}}</ref>
| align="center" | {{nts|70}}
| align="right" |
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
|-
| 2009{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}
| align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|79}} {{down}}}}
| align="right" | 0.486&nbsp;[[1,000,000,000|billion]]
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
|-
| 2010<ref name="SMH">{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/franchising/sundae-bloody-sundae-20100809-11u0x.html|title=Sundae, bloody sundae|date=2010-08-10|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|access-date=2010-09-11|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| align="center" |
| align="right" | 0.538&nbsp;billion
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
|-
| 2011
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
|-
| 2012
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
|-
| 2013
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
|-
| 2014
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
|-
| 2015<ref name="Forbes2015">{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/australia-billionaires/list/#tab:overall|title=2015 Australia's 50 Richest|access-date=10 June 2015|work=Forbes Asia|date=March 2015 }}</ref>
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
| align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|29}} {{gain}}}}
| align="right" | $1.00&nbsp;billion {{gain}}
|-
| 2016<ref name=insideretail>{{Cite web |url=https://www.insideretail.com.au/blog/2016/05/27/retailers-named-on-2016-brw-rich-200-list/ |title=Retailers named on 2016 BRW Rich 200 list - Inside Retail |access-date=2016-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828091436/https://www.insideretail.com.au/blog/2016/05/27/retailers-named-on-2016-brw-rich-200-list/ |archive-date=2016-08-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Forbes2016">{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesasia/2016/01/27/gina-rinehart-loses-her-no-1-spot/#61808088479d|title=Gina Rinehart Loses Her No. 1 Spot|access-date=22 October 2019|work=Forbes Asia|date=27 January 2016 }}</ref>
| align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|24}} }}
| align="right" | $1.80&nbsp;billion
| align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|18}} {{gain}}}}
| align="right" | $1.50&nbsp;billion {{gain}}
|-
| 2017<ref name="afr2017">{{cite news |url=http://www.afr.com/leadership/afr-lists/rich-list/financial-review-rich-list-2017-20170525-gwcvr6 |editor=Stensholt, John |title=Financial Review Rich List 2017 |work=[[The Australian Financial Review]] |date=25 May 2017 |access-date=8 June 2017 }}</ref><ref name="crikey2017">{{cite news |url=https://www.crikey.com.au/2017/05/26/tmaynes-take-the-top-25-australian-billionaires-as-claimed-by-fairfax-media/ |author=Mayne, Stephen |author-link=Stephen Mayne |title=Mayne's take: The top 25 Australian billionaires, as claimed by Fairfax |work=[[Crikey]] |publisher=Private Media |date=26 May 2017 |access-date=10 October 2019 }}</ref>
| align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|20}} {{decrease}}}}
| align="right" | $2.38&nbsp;billion {{gain}}
| align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|22}} {{decrease}}}}
| align="right" |
|-
| 2018<ref name="afr2018">{{cite web|url=http://www.afr.com/brand/afr-magazine/rich-list-overview-20180413-h0yqo5|title=2018 AFR Rich List: Who are Australia's richest people?|work=[[The Australian Financial Review]]|date=25 May 2018|editor=Stensholt, John|access-date=26 May 2018}}</ref><ref name="Forbes2017">{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesasia/2017/11/01/australias-richest-2017-mining-for-dollars/#4d3806661d24|title=Australia's Richest 2017: Country's Wealthiest Continue Mining For Dollars |access-date=28 September 2019 |work=Forbes Asia|date=1 November 2017 }}</ref>
| align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|24}} {{decrease}}}}
| align="right" | $2.41&nbsp;billion {{gain}}
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
|-
| 2019<ref name="afr2019">{{cite web|url=https://www.afr.com/rich-list/australia-s-10-wealthiest-people-revealed-20190529-p51sj0|title=Australia's 200 richest people revealed|work=[[The Australian Financial Review]] |publisher=Nine Publishing|date=30 May 2019|last=Bailey|first=Michael|access-date=31 May 2019}}</ref><ref name="Forbes2019">{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/australia-billionaires/list/#tab:overall|title=2019 Australia's 50 Richest|access-date=28 September 2019|work=Forbes Asia|date=January 2019 }}</ref>
| align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|25}} {{decrease}}}}
| align="right" | $2.79&nbsp;billion {{gain}}
| align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|23}} {{decrease}}}}
| align="right" | $1.70&nbsp;billion {{gain}}
|-
| 2020<ref name="afr2020">{{cite web|url=https://www.afr.com/rich-list/the-10-richest-australians-revealed-20201028-p569c7|url-access=subscription|title=The full list: Australia's wealthiest 200 revealed|work=[[The Australian Financial Review]]|publisher=Nine Publishing|date=30 October 2020|author1=Bailey, Michael|author2=Sprague, Julie-anne|access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref>
| align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|17}} {{gain}}}}
| align="right" | $4.51&nbsp;billion {{gain}}
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
|-
| 2021<ref name="afr2021">{{cite news |author1=Bailey, Michael |author2=Sprague, Julie-anne |url=https://www.afr.com/rich-list/australia-s-10-richest-people-revealed-20210526-p57vfr |title=The 200 richest people in Australia revealed |work=[[Australian Financial Review]] |date=27 May 2021 |access-date=28 May 2021}}</ref>
| align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|17}} {{steady}}}}
| align="right" | $4.94&nbsp;billion {{up}}
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
|-
| 2022
| align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|19}} {{down}}}}
| align="right" | $5.20&nbsp;billion {{down}}
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
|-
| 2023<ref name="afr2023">{{cite news |author1=Bailey, Michael |author2=Sprague, Julie-anne |url=https://www.afr.com/rich-list/australia-s-10-richest-people-revealed-20230523-p5dapa |title=The 200 richest people in Australia revealed |work=[[Australian Financial Review]] |date=26 May 2023 |access-date=6 June 2023}}</ref>
| align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|22}} {{down}}}}
| align="right" | $4.36&nbsp;billion {{down}}
| align="center" |
| align="right" |
|}

{{column}}
{| class="wikitable"
!colspan="2"|<small>Legend</small>
|-
!<small> Icon</small>
!<small> Description</small>
|-
|{{steady}}
|<small>Has not changed from the previous year</small>
|-
|{{profit}}
|<small>Has increased from the previous year</small>
|-
|{{loss}}
|<small>Has decreased from the previous year</small>
|}
{{columns-end}}


==See also==
==See also==
Line 45: Line 200:
==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.kfc.com.au/ Australian KFC Website]
* [http://www.kfc.com.au/ Australian KFC Website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060329034024/http://www.licenseenews.com/news/news163.html Cowin wins lawsuit against Burger King]
* [http://www.rosshumandirections.com/about/PressReleases.asp?ReleaseID=125 Cowin's Investment in Ross Human Directions]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060318021443/http://www.canadianbusiness.com/after_hours/lifestyle_activities/article.jsp?content=20051205_72930_72930 Jack Cowin - The Burger King]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060226000143/http://businesssunday.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=50390 Business Sunday program on Jack Cowin]
* [http://afrboss.com.au/magarticle.asp?doc_id=23285&listed_months=8 Australian Financial Review on Cowin's Entrepreneurship]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060408080039/http://www.franchise.org.au/content/?id=213 Franchise Council of Australia Hall of Fame]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060408080039/http://www.franchise.org.au/content/?id=213 Franchise Council of Australia Hall of Fame]

{{s-start}}
{{s-aca}}
{{s-bef | before=[[Joseph Rotman]] }}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of the [[University of Western Ontario]] | years=2015–2019 }}
{{s-aft | after=[[Linda Hasenfratz]] }}
{{s-end}}


{{Burger King}}
{{Burger King}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowin, Jack}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowin, Jack}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Australian billionaires]]
[[Category:Australian billionaires]]
[[Category:Australian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Australian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Australian people of Canadian descent]]
[[Category:Canadian billionaires]]
[[Category:Canadian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Canadian emigrants to Australia]]
[[Category:Burger King people]]
[[Category:Burger King people]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Ontario]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Ontario]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Windsor, Ontario]]
[[Category:People from Windsor, Ontario]]
[[Category:University of Western Ontario alumni]]
[[Category:University of Western Ontario alumni]]
[[Category:Date of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Chancellors of the University of Western Ontario]]

Latest revision as of 04:18, 1 January 2025

Jack Cowin
Born (1942-07-13) 13 July 1942 (age 82)
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Nationality
Alma materUniversity of Western Ontario
Occupations
  • Entrepreneur
  • Executive Chairman
Known forFounder of Hungry Jack's
OfficeChancellor of the University of Western Ontario
Term22 October 2015 (2015-10-22)–23 May 2019 (2019-05-23)
SuccessorLinda Hasenfratz
Board member of
SpouseSharon Cowin
Children4

Jack Cowin (/ˈkaʊɪn/, born 13 July 1942) is a Canadian-Australian businessman and entrepreneur with a long-term involvement in franchised fast food chains in Australia and Canada. Cowin brought KFC to Australia, founded and owns Hungry Jack's, which is the Burger King franchise in Australia,[1] and has at various stages controlled the Domino's Pizza franchise in Australia prior to its 2005 listing on the ASX.

Cowin also has an ownership stake in the Lone Star Texas Grill restaurant chain in Canada, with upstream Australian investments in cattle stations and food processing.[2] Cowin is the Executive Chairman of Competitive Foods Australia, one of Australia's largest privately held businesses.[3] Cowin has also been an investor in Australia's Ten Network, serving as a non-executive director.[2][4]

Cowin served as the Chancellor of the University of Western Ontario from 2015 until 2019.

Early life

[edit]

Cowin was born on 13 July 1942[4] in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. His father, Stanley J. Cowin, was posted to Australia briefly by Ford and later encouraged his son to consider emigrating there.[1]

As a child he was a mower and paperboy. As college student, he sold trees, shrubs and nursing stocks.[5]Cowin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario in 1964.[4][6]

Career

[edit]

Cowin became an insurance salesman with London Life for four years in Toronto before deciding to visit Australia to assess some business opportunities. Seeing long queues at a Chinese takeaway restaurant while vacationing in Sydney, he became convinced that fast food would sell well. Aged 26 years, Cowin returned to Australia to evaluate expanding Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) into the market that at that stage had limited fast food options.[4]

He bought the right to open ten KFC franchises in Western Australia, raised CA$10,000 each from thirty Canadians to launch the business in December 1969,[2] having moved with his wife and young child. As of March 2006, those initial investors had an investment worth approximately A$8.9 million.[citation needed] After opening eight KFC outlets, he bought the rights to Burger King.[7]

Cowin later discovered someone else had the rights to the Burger King trademark in Australia, so Cowin instead called the outlets Hungry Jack's. Many years later he had a falling out with Burger King over the name and other issues related to their franchise agreement which was eventually resolved in his favour. He talks about this in an interview[7] for The Billion Dollar Secret book to which Cowin contributed.[8]

In 1999 Cowin took action against Burger King Corp. in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Cowin alleged that Burger King attempted to terminate Hungry Jack's contract on the grounds that the Australian franchisee was not opening new units as fast as was required under the agreement. In response, Cowin's Hungry Jack's sued Burger King for breach of contract, alleging that the chain had no legal grounds for terminating the contract.[9]

The NSW Supreme Court ordered Burger King Corp. to pay A$45 million to Hungry Jack's Ltd. for lost profits from delayed restaurant openings, inability to sell third-party franchises, and cannibalization by the chain's corporate-owned locations. Burger King appealed the matter to the New South Wales Court of Appeal, and on 21 June 2001, the appeal was dismissed and Burger King Corp. was ordered to pay Hungry Jack's A$71 million in damages.[9]

The business Competitive Foods Australia continues to be privately held by his family, with an estimated value of $350 million.[when?] In 2017, Cowin advocated for the elimination of weekend worker penalty rates within Australia, regarding them as a "thing of the past".[10]

Cowin also owns Consolidated Foods, a meat processing business that exports throughout the world.[11] Cowin sold a substantial investment in Stanbroke Pastoral Company, one of the country's biggest cattle station operators. Cowin is also an investor in the Lone Star Texas Grill restaurant chain in Canada.[4] Cowin in a major shareholder in RCX (Rail Crew Express), a US transportation company based in Kansas that operates 1,000 vehicles as a crew hauling service to the major railway operators.[4]

Cowin has served as a non-executive director of the TEN Television Network, Chandler MacLeod, Sydney Olympic Park Authority, and Fairfax Media.[6] He is the Chairman and largest shareholder of Domino’s Pizza Enterprises. He also is a Director and 40% shareholder of BridgeClimb Sydney – operator of a major Sydney tourist attraction.[4]

Personal life

[edit]

Cowin lives in Sydney with his wife, Sharon,[6] with whom he has had four children.[12]

In 2000, his alma mater, the University of Western Ontario, conferred Cowin with the award of Doctor of Law (honoris causa).[4] Cowin served as the 22nd Chancellor of the University from September 2015[13] until May 2019.[14] He gifted funds to the University to pay for stands for the new football field, that was named in honour of his father, Stanley J. Cowin.

Cowin is an active member of the World Presidents Organization.

Net worth

[edit]

As of May 2023, the net worth of Cowin was assessed by the Financial Review Rich List at A$4.36 billion; and was ranked as the 22nd richest Australian.[15] Meanwhile, Forbes Asia assessed Cowin's net worth as US$1.7 billion in 2019; and he was ranked as the 23rd richest Australian by net worth.[16]

Year Financial Review
Rich List 		Forbes
Australia's 50 Richest
Rank Net worth (A$) Rank Net worth (US$)
2008[17] 70
2009[citation needed] 79 Decrease 0.486 billion
2010[18] 0.538 billion
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015[19] 29 Increase $1.00 billion Increase
2016[20][21] 24 $1.80 billion 18 Increase $1.50 billion Increase
2017[22][23] 20 Decrease $2.38 billion Increase 22 Decrease
2018[24][25] 24 Decrease $2.41 billion Increase
2019[26][16] 25 Decrease $2.79 billion Increase 23 Decrease $1.70 billion Increase
2020[27] 17 Increase $4.51 billion Increase
2021[28] 17 Steady $4.94 billion Increase
2022 19 Decrease $5.20 billion Decrease
2023[15] 22 Decrease $4.36 billion Decrease
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

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Story of a shattered life: A single childhood incident pushed Dawn Crey into a downward spiral | Vancouver Sun". 24 November 2001.
  2. ^ a b c Olijnyk, Zena (5 December 2005). "Jack Cowin — The Burger King". Canadian Business Magazine. Archived from the original on 18 March 2006. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Profile: Jack Cowin". Forbes. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "CACC Patron: Mr. Jack Cowin". Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce. n.d. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  5. ^ Siu, Ernestline (8 December 2024). "He bought a KFC store in Australia for $100,000 in 1969". CNBC. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Jack Cowin, BA'64, LLD'00". Extraordinary Alumni. University of Western Ontario. 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  7. ^ a b Cowin, Jack (11 June 2019). "Control Your Destiny - BILLIONAIRE Jack Cowin in Interview - "The Billion Dollar Secret" Book Launch". D.tube (Interview). Interviewed by billionairepal. Archived from the original (Streaming video) on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  8. ^ Badziag, Rafael. "The Billion Dollar Secret – 20 Principles of Billionaire Wealth and Success".
  9. ^ a b Ellinghaus, M. P. (2005). Australian Cases on Contract (6th ed.). Melbourne: Code Press. pp. 610–619. ISBN 978-0-9577941-5-3.
  10. ^ Mitchell, Sue (17 December 2015). "'Hungry' Jack Cowin's solution to penalty rate stand-off". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  11. ^ Mitchell, Sue (17 December 2015). "'Hungry' Jack Cowin's recipe for success". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 7 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  12. ^ Cowin, Jack; Ross, Julia; Cave, Paul; May, Don (15 May 2005). "The father of fast food". Business Sunday (Interview). Interviewed by Katrina Nicholas. Australia: NineMSN. Archived from the original (transcript) on 26 February 2006. Retrieved 20 December 2020. Personally I've been married for thirty nine years and my wife still talks to me. You know, people find that somewhat surprising probably. So that, raising four children, that's a challenge, business wise I think it is probably competing against big companies that have a different philosophy.
  13. ^ Zollino, Olivia (10 September 2015). "Western names Jack Cowin as 22nd chancellor". The Gazette. Archived from the original on 7 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  14. ^ Department of Communications and Public Affairs (23 May 2019). "Linda Hasenfratz named Western's 23rd Chancellor" (Press release). University of Western Ontario. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  15. ^ a b Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (26 May 2023). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  16. ^ a b "2019 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. January 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Jack sells back Barossa corker". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. 3 September 2008.
  18. ^ "Sundae, bloody sundae". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 August 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  19. ^ "2015 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. March 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  20. ^ "Retailers named on 2016 BRW Rich 200 list - Inside Retail". Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  21. ^ "Gina Rinehart Loses Her No. 1 Spot". Forbes Asia. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  22. ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2017). "Financial Review Rich List 2017". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  23. ^ Mayne, Stephen (26 May 2017). "Mayne's take: The top 25 Australian billionaires, as claimed by Fairfax". Crikey. Private Media. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  24. ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2018). "2018 AFR Rich List: Who are Australia's richest people?". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  25. ^ "Australia's Richest 2017: Country's Wealthiest Continue Mining For Dollars". Forbes Asia. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  26. ^ Bailey, Michael (30 May 2019). "Australia's 200 richest people revealed". The Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  27. ^ 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.
  28. ^ Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (27 May 2021). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
[edit]
Academic offices
Preceded by Chancellor of the University of Western Ontario
2015–2019 		Succeeded by
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