Geoff Harris: Difference between revisions

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==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Harris lives in Melbourne.<ref name="forbes2015"/> He is divorced, and has three children.<ref name="forbes2015"/><ref name="brwmansion"/> He is interested in [[military history]], and has visited war sites in Malaysia, Vietnam and France.<ref name="financialreviewpipcoates"/>
Harris lives in Melbourne.<ref name="forbes2015"/> In 2014, he purchased a historic Victorian manor for AUS$12 million in [[Albert Park, Victoria|Albert Park]], a suburb of Melbourne.<ref name="dailymailhouse">Marielle Simon, [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2730539/Flight-Centre-founder-worth-975-MILLION-sets-record-exclusive-Melbourne-suburb-purchase-12-million-English-style-manor.html Flight Centre founder worth $975 MILLION sets record in exclusive Melbourne suburb with the purchase of a $12 million English-style manor], ''The Daily Mail'', 21 August 2014</ref> He is divorced, and has three children.<ref name="forbes2015"/><ref name="brwmansion"/> He is interested in [[military history]], and has visited war sites in Malaysia, Vietnam and France.<ref name="financialreviewpipcoates"/>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 19:09, 21 April 2015

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

Geoff Harris
Bornc. 1952[1]
Occupation(s)Businessman, philanthropist
Children3

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

Early life

Geoff Harris was born circa 1952.[1] is the son of a grocer and World War II veteran who served in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea.[2] He was bullied at school as a teenager, and later dropped out.[3]

Career

Harris co-founded Flight Centre with Graham Turner and Bill James in 1981-1982.[1][3] He served as a company executive until 1998 and on its Board of Directors until 2008.[1][4][5] In 2013, he was its biggest shareholder.[4] He was also an early investor in Boost Juice.[5] In 2003, he acquired Top Deck Travel UK with five other investors.[4]

He served as the Vice President of the Hawthorn Football Club.[5]

In 2013, he was ranked 49 on the BRW Rich 200, with an estimated wealth of AUS$800 million.[4] A year later, he was ranked the 40th person in Australia, with an estimated wealth of AUS$975 million.[2]

Philanthropy

In 1999, he acquired a AUS$2.5 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.[3]

Similarly, in 2013, he acquired Cromwell Manor, a AUS$2.5 million historic mansion in Collingwood, a suburb of Melbourne, to rent it for AUS$5 annually to STREAT, a non-profit organization which teaches the homeless skills to start a career in hospitality.[5][3] He has also donated $450,000 to STREAT.[5] The non-profit is run as a business, and Harris is also an impact investor, having invested AUS$55,000.[5]

He covers the AUS$ annual rent for the headquarters of Whitelion Open Family, a non-profit organization for at-risk young people.[3]

Personal life

Harris lives in Melbourne.[1] In 2014, he purchased a historic Victorian manor for AUS$12 million in Albert Park, a suburb of Melbourne.[6] He is divorced, and has three children.[1][5] He is interested in military history, and has visited war sites in Malaysia, Vietnam and France.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 2015 Australia's 50 Richest: #50 Geoff Harris, Forbes
  2. ^ a b c Pip Coates, 'To Have And To Hold: Geoff Harris. Worth: $975 million. Rank: 40', The Australian Financial Review Magazine, July 2014, p. 22
  3. ^ a b c d e Michael Short, Geoff Harris: Helping youth take off, Sydney Morning Herald, March 31, 2014
  4. ^ a b c d BRW Rich 200: 49. Geoff Harris, BRW, 22 May 2013
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Caitlin Fitzsimmons, Why rich lister Geoff Harris is letting this Melbourne mansion for $5 a year, BRW, 23 January 2014
  6. ^ Marielle Simon, Flight Centre founder worth $975 MILLION sets record in exclusive Melbourne suburb with the purchase of a $12 million English-style manor, The Daily Mail, 21 August 2014

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