Moses "Maurice" Alter (30 March 1925 – 13 April 2018) was a wealthy Australian property developer, businessman, art collector and philanthropist.

Personal life

Maurice was born in March 1925 at Szedliszcz in eastern Poland as the son of Brachell and Joseph Alter.[1] He received an education in Russia and Germany before being captured and imprisoned in a German prisoner-of-war camp. Arriving in Australia in early 1949 as a displaced person, he was the sole surviving member of his family.[2]

A private man, Alter was often the "shabbiest-dressed" attendee at Melbourne property auctions. His friend and one-time business partner Lloyd Williams once observed that he seemed to have worn the same suit for 15 years.[3][4] His name was often shortened to "Morrie".[5]

He married Hinda "Helen" Rubinstein in 1955 and became an Australian citizen in 1956.[6] They shared an interest in music and together owned an expensive contemporary art collection, which included Brett Whiteley's Portrait of Beaudalaire.[7] Maurice Alter died on the 13th April 2018 due to unreported causes. His property empire, consolidated as the Pacific Gruop, is now managed by his his son, Samuel Alter.[8][9]

Net worth

Alter was one of ten individuals listed on every Financial Review Rich List since the first list was published in 1984.[10]

Year Financial Review
Rich List 		Forbes
Australia's 50 Richest
Rank Net worth (A$) Rank Net worth (US$)
2011[11] 32 Decrease $0.70 billion Increase
2012[12] 30 Increase $0.78 billion Increase
2013[13] 32 Decrease $0.89 billion Increase
2014[14] 30 Increase $0.96 billion Increase
2015[15] 19 Increase $1.20 billion Increase
2016[16] 24 Decrease $1.10 billion Decrease
2017[17][18][19] $1.81 billion 20 Increase
2018[20] 26 Increase $2.26 billion Increase
2019[21][22] 35 Decrease $2.33 billion Increase 18 Increase $2.10 billion Increase
2020[23] 34 Increase $2.31 billion Decrease
2021[24] 46 Decrease $2.32 billion Increase
2022 42 Decrease $2.60 billion Decrease
2023[25] 44 Decrease $2.60 billion Steady
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

Career

Upon arriving in Australia, Maurice first worked as an electrical engineer before making his first real estate investment in the mid-1950s, buying two shops and a bank in the Melbourne suburb of Kew. By 1967, he had teamed up with developers George Herscu and Paul Fayman – who in 1969, bought a controlling interest in a publicly-listed finance company and transformed it into development conglomerate Hanover Holdings, back-dooring into the Melbourne Stock Exchange. Hanover had interests in shopping centre construction, mining, entertainment, produce wholesaling and many different kinds of developments. The company's success in the early 1970s, which was boosted by a property boom, formed the foundation of Alter's wealth.[26]

Hanover was dissolved by 1978 and its assets were divided amongst the three core directors. Alter kept a selection of prominent commercial sites including the Forest Hill Shopping Centre. Alter started Pacific Shopping Centres in 1979, which is active mostly in Victoria and South Australia.[27] The company's first major projects were the $32 million Centrepoint Mall at Bourke Street (in partnership with Paul Fayman) and the $12 million Pran Central Shopping Centre at Chapel Street (in partnership with John Gandel).[28][29] Other notable retail developments he had direct involvement with include Pacific Werribee in Hoppers Crossing (1985), Pacific Epping (1995), Wodonga Plaza (1988), Sunshine Plaza (1983) and the Myer complex at David Street, Albury.[30]

In 1983, Alter pleaded guilty to giving secret commissions to the former secretary of the Builders Labourers Federation, Norm Gallagher. He was put on good behaviour bonds and his companies were fined. Later, in finding Gallagher guilty of accepting secret commissions, Judge Waldron of the County Court said he believed the developers had been dealt with too leniently.[3] The next year, he made a strong recovery with one of his most profitable ventures. The state Labor Government approved a permit for the construction of a major commercial building on a Glen Iris site owned by Alter and Hudson Conway, managed by Mr. Williams and Ron Walker. This building became the headquarters for Coles-Myer, generating $11 million annually in rental income and significantly boosting the site's value. Many of his shopping centres featured a Coles-Myer retail brand, often a Coles supermarket or Target, as their primary tenant. According to BRW, the two biggest growth bursts in the Alter fortune came between 1986–1989 and 1992–1995 as the property market surged.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Notice of naturalisation". The Australian Jewish News. 22 October 1954. p. 15.
  2. ^ Debrett's Handbook of Australia and New Zealand (2nd ed.). Sydney: Debrett's Peerage. 1984.
  3. ^ a b c Mottram, Murray (22 August 1991). "A taxing time for a private tycoon". Sunday Age: Late Edition. p. 1.
  4. ^ "Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Avner chair". The Australian Jewish News. 8 September 1995. p. 33.
  6. ^ "Certificates of Naturalisation". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (73): 3828. 13 December 1956.
  7. ^ Business Review Weekly: The Magazine of Australian & New Zealand Business · Volumes 1-2. 1991. p. 48.
  8. ^ "THE LIST - AUSTRALIA'S RICHEST 250". The Australian. 15 March 2024. p. 66.
  9. ^ "Juilliard's $1bn sell-off". The Australian. 21 December 2017.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "2011 Australia's 40 Richest". Forbes Asia. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  12. ^ "2012 Australia's 40 Richest". Forbes Asia. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  13. ^ "2013 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  14. ^ "2014 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. January 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  15. ^ "2015 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. March 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  16. ^ "Gina Rinehart Loses Her No. 1 Spot". Forbes Asia. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  17. ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2017). "Financial Review Rich List 2017". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  18. ^ Mayne, Stephen (26 May 2017). "Mayne's take: The top 25 Australian billionaires, as claimed by Fairfax". Crikey. Private Media. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  19. ^ "Australia's Richest 2017: Country's Wealthiest Continue Mining For Dollars". Forbes Asia. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  20. ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2018). "2018 AFR Rich List: Who are Australia's richest people?". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  21. ^ Bailey, Michael (30 May 2019). "Australia's 200 richest people revealed". The Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  22. ^ "2019 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. January 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (27 May 2021). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  25. ^ Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (26 May 2023). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  26. ^ McDougall, Graeme (26 November 1975). "Hanover gets inside offer". The Age. p. 21.
  27. ^ "BRW Rich 200 list 2014: 20. Maurice Alter". 26 June 2014.
  28. ^ "Centrepoint to boost mall". The Australian Jewish News. 12 October 1979. p. 29.
  29. ^ "All the goodies under one roof". The Australian Jewish News. 23 February 1979. p. 31.
  30. ^ "Shopping centres boost retail market". The Australian Jewish News. 1 March 1991. p. 12.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Alter
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