David Teoh
David Siang Hai Teoh is an Australian businessman, and the 25th-richest person in Australia, estimated to be worth approximately US$2.9 billion.[1]
David Teoh | |
---|---|
Born | 1955 (age 64–65) |
Nationality | Australian |
Occupation | Executive Chairman & CEO |
Known for | Founder, TPG |
Net worth | US$2.9 bn (Forbes 2016)[1] |
Spouse(s) | Vicky Teoh |
Children | 4 |
He is the executive chairman of TPG, a company he founded with his Taiwanese wife Vicky in 1992 after emigrating from Malaysia in 1986.
TPG started off as a computer retail company, but several acquisitions including the purchase of a mobile spectrum licence, have contributed to its success as a major internet service provider.[2]
In August 2018, Teoh announced TPG was in discussions with Vodafone Hutchinson Australia about a proposed $13 billion merger.[3] Teoh’s only comment about the proposed merger was the pricing would be “very aggressive” and that it would bring value to the customer.[4] It was blocked by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on the grounds that it would lessen consumer choice in both the internet and mobile phone markets.[5] But in early 2020 Vodafone and TPG were granted permission by the Federal Court to merge, paving the way for the stalled $15 billion deal to finally proceed.[6]
Famously reclusive, Teoh has only been photographed in public twice. A photographer staked out his house for three days in 2015,[5] and in 2019 the proposed merger with Vodafone obliged him to attend court.
His four sons, Shane, Jack, John and Bob, have launched more than a dozen startup companies dealing in clothing, furniture, technology, and eyeglasses. Vicky Teoh has her own substantial investments, including Vita Life Sciences Ltd, a pharmaceutical and healthcare company.[7]
References
- "2016 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. January 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- "David Teoh". Forbes. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- Duke, Jennifer (24 August 2018). "Did TPG's David Teoh just outsmart the telco industry?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- Reichert, Corinne. "TPG-Vodafone will be 'very aggressive': David Teoh". ZDNet. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- Butler, Ben (11 September 2019). "Australia's secretive billionaire David Teoh steps into media spotlight". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- Crozier, Ry (13 February 2020). "Vodafone and TPG $15bn merger gets court approval". IT News.
- Stensholt, John (26 May 2016). "Rich List 2016: Gina Rinehart richest woman, but wealth takes a slide". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 12 August 2016.