Kerr Neilson

Kerr Neilson (born 1949), is an Australian investment manager, the co-founder and managing director of Platinum Asset Management.

Kerr Neilson
Born	1949 (age 70–71) Johannesburg, South Africa
Nationality	Australian; South African
Occupation	Investment manager
Known for	Co-founder and MD, Platinum Asset Management
Net worth	A$1.49 billion (AFR 2019)[1] US$1.85 billion (Forbes 2016)[2]
Spouse(s)	Judith Neilson (m. ??; div. 2015)
Children	2

Biography

Neilson started his financial management career in the investments department of Courtaulds in London.[3] After returning to South Africa in 1973, he moved to Australia ten years later as the head of retail funds management for Bankers Trust Australia (now BT Australia). Neilson established the Platinum Asset Management fund in 1994 with initial backing from George Soros.[4] Platinum specialises in international equities and has an estimated $US16 billion in funds under management.[5] Neilson is its managing director and portfolio manager.[6] In May 2007, Neilson floated 20 percent of Platinum Asset Management on the Australian Stock Exchange. The 57 percent of the company's shares he retained were valued at A$2.9 billion, making him one of Australia's richest people.[7]

Neilson has been likened to Warren Buffett for his ability to consistently select high-performing stocks.[7][8][9] However, poor results during the 2012 financial year resulted in a 16 per cent fall in net profit, mainly due to a 14 per cent reduction in investment income. As a result, Neilsen agreed to forego a performance bonus, an increase in his base salary, and neither granted himself nor exercised options. As the principal shareholder of Platinum, Neilsen yielded A$42 million in dividends during the 2012 financial year.[10]

Personal

Neilson and his former wife, Judith, have two children. In 2009, Kerr and Judith Neilson opened the White Rabbit Gallery in Sydney to share with the public their extensive collection of contemporary Chinese art.[11] Kerr and Judith Neilson divorced in 2015.[12]

Wealth rankings

Neilson has been listed on the BRW Rich 200 since 2011. Following his divorce, according to the BRW his net worth fell from A$3.35 billion to A$2 billion in 2015.[13] The most recent survey, the Financial Review Rich List, completed in 2019, assessed Neilson's net worth at A$1.49 billion.[1]

Neilson first appeared on the Forbes list of Australia's 50 Richest people in 2010 with a net worth of US$2.20 billion. In the latest list that was published in early 2016, following his divorce, Forbes assessed Neilson's net worth at US$1.85 billion.[2]

Meanwhile, his former wife, Judith Neilson debuted on the 2015 BRW Rich 200 with a net worth of A$1.55 billion in 2015,[14] and was assessed as having a net worth of A$1.45 billion in 2016.[15]

Year	Financial Review Rich List		Forbes Australia's 50 Richest
	Rank	Net worth A$ bn	Rank	Net worth US$ bn
2010[5]			6	2.20
2011[16][17]		2.10	8	2.40
2012[18][19]	14	2.08	10	2.10
2013[20][21]	13	2.43	9	2.50
2014[22][23]	10	3.35	10	2.90
2015[13][24]	18	2.00	8	3.00
2016[2][15]	22	1.95	11	1.85
2017
2018[25]	35	1.78
2019[1]	60	1.49

Legend
Icon	Description
	Has not changed from the previous year
	Has increased from the previous year
	Has decreased from the previous year

References

1. Bailey, Michael (30 May 2019). "Australia's 200 richest people revealed". The Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
2. "2016 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. January 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
3. "Portfolio Talk: Kerr Neilson". Good Returns NZ. New Zealand. 3 October 2002. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011.
4. Myer, Rod (28 December 2003). "Taking a punt proves Platinum's mettle". The Age. Australia.
5. "Australia's 40 Richest: #6 Kerr Neilson". Forbes Asia. 3 March 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
6. Blue, Tim; Korporaal, Glenda (26 May 2007). "Understated billionaire walks the talk". The Australian.
7. Washington, Stuart (23 May 2007). "Meet the $2.9b Man of Platinum". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
8. Schmidt, Lucinda (20 July 2009). "Profile Kerr Neilson". The Age. Australian.
9. Robinson, Gwen (23 May 2007). "Australia's own 'Buffett' is platinum-plated". Financial Times: alphaville.
10. Evans, Michael (17 August 2012). "Neilson axes bonus after hit at Platinum". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
11. "White Rabbit Gallery" (streaming video). ABC Arts Online. Australia: ABC TV. 2 November 2009. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
12. "Billionaire Kerr Neilson to hand over $3bn slice of empire to wife after messy divorce". The Sunday Telegraph. Australia. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
13. "Rich 200: Kerr Neilson". BRW. May 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
14. "Rich 200: Judith Neilson". BRW. May 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
15. Stensholt, John, ed. (27 May 2016). "BRW Rich 200 List 2016". Financial Review. Australia. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
16. "Passport Power". BRW Rich 200 Wealth Index. Australia. 25 May 2011. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
17. "Australia's 40 Richest: #8 Kerr Neilson". Forbes Asia. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
18. "Rich 200: Kerr Neilson". BRW. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
19. "Australia's 40 Richest: #10 Kerr Neilson". Forbes Asia. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
20. "Rich 200: Kerr Neilson". BRW. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
21. "Gina Rinehart tops Forbes' Australian rich list". The Australian. AAP. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
22. "Rich 200: Kerr Neilson". BRW. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
23. Rollason, Adam (30 January 2014). "Rinehart on top, Palmer down on Forbes rich list". Financial Review. Australia. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
24. "Australia's 50 Richest People: #8 Kerr Neilson". Forbes. March 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
25. Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2018). "2018 AFR Rich List: Who are Australia's richest people?". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 26 May 2018.

External links

• Platinum Asset Management website