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Lindsay Fox

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Lindsay Fox
AC
Born
Lindsay Edward Fox

1937 (age 86–87)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
NationalityAustralian
EducationMelbourne High School
OccupationBusinessman
Years active1956–present
OrganizationLinfox / Fox Holdings
Spouse
Paula Grace Peele
​
(m. 1959)​
Children6

Lindsay Edward Fox AC (born c. 1937) is an Australian businessman. In 1956, Fox founded the Australian logistics company Linfox, where as of 2015 he serves as non-executive chairman.[1]

Early life

Lindsay Fox was born around 1937 and brought up in Prahran, a suburb of Melbourne. He was educated at Melbourne High School, but was asked to leave during Year 10, at age 16, due to his lack of academic interest. He started working as a truck driver and was able to use this as a springboard to found Linfox.[2]

Football career

For many of his earlier years, Fox played Australian rules football with moderate success. Recruited from the St Kilda Football Club's thirds side (which he captained), Fox was sent to Golden Point Football Club in the Ballarat Football League before he returned to make his Victorian Football League debut for St Kilda in 1960. He did not think much of his footballing abilities, but as a ruckman he went on to play 20 games (for 3 goals) from 1959 to 1961.[2] Following his stint in the VFL, he went to the Victorian Football Association (VFA), playing firstly for Moorabbin, where he won a premiership, and then for Brighton-Caulfield, where he moved after Moorabbin's expulsion from the VFA.[3]

He later returned in an administrative role, becoming the president of the St Kilda Football Club in 1979.

Business interests

Fox started Linfox in 1956 with one truck.[4]

He also took ownership of Melbourne's Luna Park in late 2005. In 2006, he made an unsuccessful bid for the development of the neighboring 'Triangle Site' on St Kilda's foreshore. The property was subsequently destroyed by fire.[5][6][7]

He has been involved with a number of high-profile disputes with the Government relating to his property development activities. In the late 1990s he attempted to claim the public beach area in front of his holiday home as a private helipad for his helicopter and to build a high security compound for himself and his family. This development was rejected by the Victorian Planning Minister.[8] However he has also been able to use his government contacts to gain favorable treatment by being granted permission to land his helicopter near his Portsea home on crown land.[9]

Fox has been in dispute with the local council of his Toorak mansion by attempting to have the heritage listing that applies to all homes in the street removed from his property.[10] His son's Toorak home was destroyed by fire.[11]

Awards and recognition

Fox was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours' List of 1992, in recognition of service to the transport industry and to the community.[12] In 2001, he was awarded the Centenary Medal.[13]

In 2008, Fox was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), in recognition of his continued service to the transport and logistics industries, to business through the development and promotion of youth traineeships, and to the community through a range of philanthropic endeavours.[14]

In April 2022, it was announced that the new gallery, part of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) would be named The Fox: NGV Contemporary, in recognition of a $100 million donation from the Foxes.[15]

Personal life

Fox married Paula Grace Peele in 1959[citation needed] (now Paula Fox AO.[15]), and they have six children, all born before he was 30 years old.[2]

In 2004 on the ABC TV George Negus Tonight program, Fox's work ethic and business savviness was profiled.[16] When asked by George Negus how he describes himself politically, Fox replied: "I guess, Labor think I'm Liberal, Liberal think I'm Labor, the Catholics think I'm Protestant, the Protestants think I'm Catholic. The local rabbi delivers me matzah. So I guess, bottom line, I'm an Australian".[16] Fox went on to say: "I, traditionally, probably, was brought up in a working-class family where the old man would turn in his grave if he'd thought I'd have voted Liberal. But I must admit, from probably 25 up to the last election, I would have voted Liberal and supported Liberal quite strongly. But I was completely disillusioned by the lack of statesmanship with our Prime Minister with the Ansett debacle. He had an opportunity to be a statesman. Instead he took on a political role and as a result of that, the demise of Ansett came about".[16]

Following the suicide of his son Michael in 1991, Fox advised the Federal and Victorian governments on youth suicide[2] and is on the board of the National Advisory Council on Suicide Prevention.[17] In 1992 he was named "Victorian Father of the Year".[2] In an interview with George Negus in August 2004, Fox spoke of the loss of his son: "Well, life is about being up and being down and being able to get up again. And in my walks of life, I guess I thought I was invincible till one of my sons committed suicide. And at that point of time, I knew I wasn't invincible ... I'd give up everything if we could get Michael back. He's got a special place in each and every one of the hearts of our family and he'll always be there and he'll never grow old."[16]

Net worth

In 2019, The Australian Financial Review assessed Fox's net worth at A$3.72 billion, listed on the 2020 Rich List.[18] As of May 2021, Fox was one of ten Australians who have appeared in every Financial Review Rich List, or its predecessor, the BRW Rich 200, since it was first published in 1984.[19][20] Meanwhile, in 2019 Forbes assessed his net worth at US$3.50 billion, on the list of Australia's 50 richest people.[21]

Year Financial Review
Rich List 		Forbes
Australia's 50 Richest
Rank Net worth
A$ 		Rank Net worth
US$
2011[22][23] 17 Increase $2.05 billion Increase 11 Decrease $1.70 billion Increase
2012[24][25] 18 Increase $2.00 billion Decrease 14 Decrease $1.60 billion Decrease
2013[26][27] 19 Decrease $1.90 billion Decrease 14 Steady $1.95 billion Increase
2014[28][29] 15 Increase $2.12 billion Increase 11 Increase $2.20 billion Increase
2015[30][1] 15 Steady $2.24 billion Increase 9 Increase $2.90 billion Increase
2016[31][1] 13 Increase $2.49 billion Increase
2017[32] 13 Steady $2.91 billion Increase
2018[33] 17 Decrease $3.56 billion Increase $3.50 billion
2019[34][21] 31 Decrease $3.31 billion Decrease 10 Decrease $3.50 billion Steady
2020[18] 23 Increase $3.72 billion Increase
2021[19] 25 Decrease $4.01 billion Increase
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

References

  1. ^ a b c "2015 Australia's 50 Richest: #9 Lindsay Fox". Forbes Asia. March 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e Hawthorne, Mark (26 January 2008). "Trucking magnate Lindsay Fox, AC, plugs into the power of dreams". The Age.
  3. ^ Scot Palmer (8 April 1964). "Moorabbin windfall to 'wooden-spooner'". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 59.
  4. ^ Doebele, Justin; Fass, Allison (12 February 2007). "Australia and New Zealand's 40 Richest". Forbes. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  5. ^ Topsfield, Jewel; Houston, Cameron (23 June 2005). "Luna Park fan Fox follows his heart". The Age.
  6. ^ Collier, Karen (25 November 2006). "Lindsay Fox in resort brawl". Herald Sun.
  7. ^ "Phillip Island may never be the same". The Age. 27 August 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  8. ^ Minister for Planning. "Minister reject house-sized boatshed". Department of Planning (Press release). Victorian Government. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
  9. ^ ABC News Online [dead link‍]
  10. ^ "Now it's Fox's Toorak house in a planning wrangle". The Age. 7 May 2003.
  11. ^ "Fox family home gutted in fire". The Age. 15 April 2004.
  12. ^ "FOX Lindsay: Officer of the Order of Australia". It's an Honour. Commonwealth of Australia. 26 January 1992. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  13. ^ "FOX Lindsay: Centenary Medal". It's an Honour. Commonwealth of Australia. 1 January 2001. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  14. ^ "FOX Lindsay: Companion of the Order of Australia". It's an Honour. Commonwealth of Australia. 26 January 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  15. ^ a b "Foxes' $100 million NGV gift a generous vote of confidence in Melbourne". The Age. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  16. ^ a b c d "GNT Profile: Lindsay Fox". George Negus Tonight. ABC TV. 8 December 2004.
  17. ^ "Youth Suicide Prevention Bulletin". Australian Institute of Family Studies. October 2000.
  18. ^ a b 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.
  19. ^ a b Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (27 May 2021). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  20. ^ Thomson, James (22 May 2013). "Celebrating 30 years of the Rich 200". BRW Rich 200. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  21. ^ a b "2019 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. January 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  22. ^ "2011 BRW Rich 200: Lindsay Fox". BRW. Sydney. 26 May 2011. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  23. ^ "Chinese abandon Triguboff's Meriton Apartments". The Australian. 21 April 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  24. ^ "2012 BRW Rich 200: Lindsay Fox". BRW. Sydney. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  25. ^ "2012 Australia's 40 Richest". Forbes Asia. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  26. ^ "2013 BRW Rich 200: Lindsay Fox". BRW. Sydney. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  27. ^ "2013 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  28. ^ "2014 BRW Rich 200 list". BRW (A Fairfax Media Publication). Sydney. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.[permanent dead link‍]
  29. ^ "2014 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. January 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  30. ^ "2015 BRW Rich 200 list: Lindsay Fox". BRW. Sydney. May 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  31. ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (29 May 2016). "2016 BRW Rich 200 list: Lindsay Fox". Financial Review. Australia. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  32. ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2017). "Financial Review Rich List 2017". Financial Review. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  33. ^ Stensholt, John (25 May 2018). "2018 AFR Rich List: Who are Australia's richest people?". The Australian Financial Review. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  34. ^ Bailey, Michael (30 May 2019). "Australia's 200 richest people revealed". The Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
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