Former NSW Premier and Australian senator Kristina Keneally and supermodel-turned-entrepreneur Miranda Kerr are among the highlights of Forbes Australia’s biggest issue to date, released today.
Leading the bumper 108-page issue is founder and CEO of WiseTech Global, Richard White. White is devouring the world of freight software with a personal fortune that has more than doubled in the past 12 months to around $9.7 billion. He talked to Forbes Australia about how he went from refrigeration mechanic to Australia’s seventh richest person.
Forbes Australia, editor-in-chief, Sarah O’Carroll, said: “Richard White is a true Australian success story. The fascinating story of his success is inspiring and proves how connecting like-minded people, and one conversation, can lead to a $25 billion business.”
Other highlights in the new issue include: Few women in Australia carry the breadth of leadership experience of former New South Wales premier and Australian senator Kristina Keneally. From politics to sport and now her role as chief executive of the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation, Keneally has experienced it all. She opens up about the lessons she’s learned along the way.
In 2022, millions of Australians had their data accessed by hackers via major cyber-attacks on Optus and Medibank. This year, 14 million personal customer records were stolen in an attack on Latitude Financial. The Australian government has since announced changes to beef up Australia’s cyber security. Forbes Australia explores the resulting trends including talent shortages, the role of AI and the new frontier of prevention rather than detection.
Software company ReadyTech was bootstrapped by its Co-Founder Marc Washbourne for the first five years. Today, the ASX-listed company with a market cap of about $360 million (at time of printing) has global operations and 500 staff. Washbourne explains why those tough early years set up his business for success.
Tim Sims, co-Founder and managing director of Pacific Equity Partners, which has $9 billion in assets under management, talks to Forbes Australia’s Managing Editor Stewart Hawkins about public versus private equity, the debt market, interest rates, why investing in startups isn’t what the firm does, the future of deal cadence and whether we are now in a “difficult” investment market.
Music heads Nick Humphreys and brothers Alex and Anthony Zaccaria have been in business together for more than a decade. Their first business was a music marketing platform, Bolster, which they exited in 2020. Their second? Linktree, a tool allowing social media users to share multiple links in their profiles, which was valued at $2 billion last year.
Miranda Kerr made her modelling debut in 1997 at just 13 years of age and by 2013, was the second-highest earning model in the world. In 2009, Kerr became a pioneer of the now multi-billion-dollar organic skincare industry, launching KORA Organics. Months after turning 40, the girl from Gunnedah is committed to growing her business into a global household name and believes she has the strategy to execute.
New Zealand opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has performed for some of the most influential people in the world. Now retired, she is happiest at home in the gardens of her Bay of Islands property, spending time with her family and dogs. However, she still finds time to give back by mentoring up-and-coming opera singers.
Australian psychiatrists will be allowed to prescribe psilocybin and MDMA – the active ingredients in magic mushrooms and ecstasy – from July. Forbes Australia looks at how the business world is already embarking on a Magical Mystery Tour.
