Geoff Harris

Geoff Harris (born ca. 1952) is an Australian businessman and philanthropist.

For the Canadian middle-distance runner, see Geoffrey Harris.

Geoff Harris
Borncirca 1952 (age 67–68)[1]
OccupationBusinessman, philanthropist
Known forCo-founder of Flight Centre
Net worth
  • A$881 million (BRW 2015)[2]
  • US$550 million (Forbes 2015)[1]
Spouse(s)div.
Children3

Biography

Born circa 1952,[1] Harris is the son of a grocer and World War II veteran who served in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea.[3] He was bullied at school as a teenager, and later dropped out.[4]

Harris is a co-founder of Flight Centre with Graham Turner and Bill James in 1981–1982.[1][4] He served as a company executive until 1998 and as a non-executive director until 2008.[1][5][6] In 2013, he was its biggest shareholder.[5] He was also an early investor in Boost Juice.[6] In 2003, he acquired Top Deck Travel UK with five other investors.[5]

He served as the Vice President of the Hawthorn Football Club.[6]

Personal life

Harris lives in Melbourne.[1] He is interested in military history, and has visited war sites in Malaysia, Vietnam and France.[3]

Personal wealth

In 2015, Harris' net worth was estimated to be A$881 million, listed on the BRW Rich 200[2] and US$550 million, listed on Forbes list of Australia's 50 Richest people.[7]

Year BRW Rich 200 Forbes
Australia's 50 Richest
Rank Net worth (AUD) Rank Net worth (USD)
2011
2012
2013 49 $800 million
2014[8][9] 40 $975 million 41 $700 million
2015[2][7] 53 $881 million 50 $550 million
Legend
Icon Description
Has not changed from the previous year
Has increased from the previous year
Has decreased from the previous year

Philanthropy

In 1999, Harris acquired an A$2.5 million house for the Reach Foundation, a non-profit organization whose aim is to provide unprivileged young people with access to mental health, co-founded by football player Jim Stynes and film director Paul Currie.[4]

Similarly, in 2013, he acquired Cromwell Manor, an A$2.5 million historic mansion in Collingwood, a suburb of Melbourne, to rent it for A$5 per annum to STREAT, a non-profit organization which teaches the homeless skills to start a career in hospitality.[6][4] He has also donated A$450,000 to STREAT.[6] The non-profit is run as a business, and Harris is also an impact investor, having invested A$55,000.[6]

Harris covers the annual rent for the headquarters of Whitelion Open Family, a non-profit organization for at-risk young people.[4]

Harris also provided financial support for the treatment of Hawthorn Football Club player Jarryd Roughead during his fight against cancer. Roughead had previously found cancerous melanoma in his lip in the 2015 season, only to have it come back in the 2016 season. This required an expensive immunotherapy treatment, for which Harris paid.[10]

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References
  1. "2015 Australia's 50 Richest: #50 Geoff Harris". Forbes Asia. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  2. "2015 BRW Rich 200 list: Geoff Harris". BRW. Sydney. May 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  3. Coates, Pip (July 2014). "To Have And To Hold: Geoff Harris. Worth: $975 million. Rank: 40". The Australian Financial Review Magazine. p. 22.
  4. Short, Michael (31 March 2014). "Geoff Harris: Helping youth take off". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  5. "BRW Rich 200: 49. Geoff Harris". BRW. Sydney. 22 May 2013.
  6. Fitzsimmons, Caitlin (23 January 2014). "Why rich lister Geoff Harris is letting this Melbourne mansion for $5 a year". BRW. Sydney. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  7. "2015 Australia's 50 Richest: #50 Geoff Harris". Forbes Asia. March 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  8. "2014 BRW Rich 200 list". BRW (a Fairfax Media Publication). Sydney. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  9. "2014 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. January 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  10. "PCM Speech: Alastair Clarkson". Hawthorn FC. 8 October 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
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