Bob Ell

William Robert ("Bob") Ell (born circa 1955[2][3]) is an Australian property developer and businessman with interests in residential, retail, commercial and industrial property.[3]

Bob Ell
Born
William Robert Ell[1]

circa 1947 (age 75–76)
Merriwa, New South Wales
NationalityAustralian
OccupationProperty developer
Spouses
  • Barbara Ell (div.)
  • Bridget Ell
Children7

Biography

Ell, a former carpenter[4] who was born in Merriwa, New South Wales,[5] founded Leda Group, a privately owned property development company in 1976. The company's head office is located in Sydney, and it has business interests in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.[6] Included in Ell's property portfolio are residential developments at Pimpama, Queensland; and at Cobaki Lakes, and Kings Forest, both in far north New South Wales. He has raised plans to develop a cruise ship terminal, including three liner berths plus a superyacht marina, three resorts and an option for a casino at Tugun.[7] Ell has commercial property interests in shopping centres at Ipswich Riverlink, Victoria Point and Morayfield in Queensland; and at the Tuggeranong Hyperdome in Canberra.[2] In 2012 it was reported that Leda had developed properties worth a total of more than A$3 billion since Ell established the group in 1976.[8]

Ell floated Leda on the Australian Securities Exchange in the late 1980s and privatised the company in 1990.[9][10]

In 2009 it was reported that Ell acted as a surety for Michael McGurk and provided A$100,000 in bail for firebombing and assault charges against McGurk; with the charges subsequently dropped.[4][11][12] Following the 2009 murder of McGurk, Ell issued a statement detailing his business and personal relationship with McGurk.[1] According to media reports, McGurk had been negotiating on behalf of Ell and for business associates of nightclub identity John Ibrahim to run the downstairs bar area of the Crest in return for an investment of $10–$15 million.[13] In addition, Ell had been a potential sponsor of a proposed western Sydney A-League soccer team, in a deal brokered in 2009 by McGurk.[14] Ell had a longstanding dispute with Greens Tweed Shire councillor Katie Milne where he successfully sued her for defamation in the NSW Supreme Court, and was awarded A$15,000 in damages. The defamation action related to an email sent by Milne alleging he had a scandalous association with McGurk.[15]

In 2012, Ell sought and was granted permission by the Privileges Committee of the New South Wales Legislative Council to lodge a Citizen's Right of Reply on behalf of Leda Holdings. The reply related to comments by Cate Faehrmann MLC, a member of the NSW Greens, in the Legislative Council on 9 November 2011. Ell's reply highlighted errors of fact and distortions contained in Faehrmann's speech. The Privileges Committee ordered that the Citizen's Right of Reply be published.[16]

Personal life

Ell is married to Brigit, twenty-six years younger than Ell, and they have four children William, John, Charles and Tiffiany. Ell has a son, and two daughters from his first marriage to Barbara.[7] Ell resides both on the Gold Coast and in Sydney,[2][7] with an additional residence in Noosa Heads.[7]

Wealth rankings

In 2014, the Business Review Weekly assessed Ell's net worth at A$1.29 billion;[2] and Forbes Asia assessed his net worth at A$1.10 billion.[3] In February 2013, Ell listed for sale a 4,397-square-metre (47,330 sq ft) residential property in Cremorne with an asking price of between A$20 – 25 million.[7][17][18] In July the same year, Ell sold his Potts Point penthouse apartment for A$15 million[18] and purchased a non-waterfront house in Bellevue Hill for A$30 million[2] twelve months later.[19] It was reported between 2000 and 2002 that Ell owned a luxury 36-metre (118 ft) catamaran called Leda worth A$15 million.[5][10] As of May 2023, The Australian Financial Review Rich List, that superseded the BRW Rich 200, estimated Ell's net worth as A$2.43 billion.[20]

Year Financial Review
Rich List		 Forbes
Australia's 50 Richest
Rank Net worth ($A) Rank Net worth (US$)
2010[21] $1.10 billion Increase n/a not listed
2011[22] 27 Increase $1.20 billion Increase n/a not listed
2012[8] 28 Decrease $1.14 billion Decrease n/a not listed
2013[23] 32 Decrease $1.13 billion Decrease 26 Increase $0.96 billion Increase
2014[2][3] 25 Increase $1.29 billion Increase 22 Increase $1.10 billion Increase
2015[24] 19 Increase $1.20 billion Increase
2016[25] 23 Decrease $1.20 billion Steady
2017[26][27][28] $1.52 billion 28 Decrease
2018[29] 48 Increase $1.56 billion Increase
2019[30][31] 44 Increase $1.84 billion Increase 30 Increase $1.42 billion Increase
2020[32] 47 Decrease $1.98 billion Increase
2021[33] 55 Decrease $1.98 billion Steady
2022 46 Increase $2.40 billion Increase
2023[20] 48 Decrease $2.43 billion Increase
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

References
  1. Ell, Bob (11 September 2009). "Statement of Bob Ell: Regarding Michael McGurk" (PDF). Sydney Morning Herald. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  2. "BRW Rich 200 list 2014: 25. Bob Ell". BRW. Sydney. 27 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  3. "#22 Robert Ell". Australia's 50 Richest. Forbes. January 2014. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  4. Moran, Susannah (10 September 2009). "Michael McGurk's $100,000 bail put up by billionaire Bob Ell". The Australian. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  5. Moran, Susannah (20 August 2000). "Ell Of A Way To Swan Around". The Sun-Herald. Cruiser Yacht. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  6. "About Leda". Leda Holdings. 2012. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  7. Passmore, Daryl (25 August 2013). "Queensland's Rich List 2013: Bob Ell". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  8. "Rich 200: Bob Ell". BRW. Sydney. 24 May 2012. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  9. Bennett, James (25 August 2007). "10 big rich mistakes". Smart Company. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  10. Porter, Jeni (2 November 2002). "Tax rap threatens to lift the wraps on a very private magnate". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  11. Dempster, Quentin (11 September 2009). "Who Killed Michael McGurk?". Stateline. Sydney: ABC TV. Archived from the original (transcript) on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  12. McClymont, Kate; Carson, Vanda (20 August 2009). "Firebomb charges to be dropped". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  13. Carson, Vanda; Welch, Dylan; McClymont, Kate (6 September 2009). "How the final deals of Mr Fixit unfolded". The Age. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  14. Magnay, Jacquelin (10 September 2009). "Rules of the game changed for Knowles". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  15. Feliu, Luis (3 December 2014). "Judges reject appeals by developer and Tweed councillor". Tweed Echo. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  16. Ell, Bob; Leda Holdings; van Rij, Reg; Khan, Trevor (23 February 2012). "Report No. 58: Citizen's right of reply" (PDF). Privileges Committee, New South Wales Legislative Council. Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  17. Chancellor, Jonathan (13 February 2013). "Bob Ell lists Cremorne harbourfront residential mansion mega-site". Property Observer. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  18. Macken, Lucy (13 July 2013). "Bob Ell sells for $15m in Potts Point". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  19. Macken, Lucy (26 September 2014). "Point Piper's $30 million boatshed". The Age. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  20. Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (26 May 2023). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  21. Chandler, Ainslie (8 December 2010). "Frank Lowy tops BRW rich list for first time". BRW. Sydney. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  22. "Rich 200: Bob Ell". BRW Rich 200 Wealth Index. Sydney. 26 May 2011. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  23. "BRW Rich 200 2013 Wealth Index: 32. Bob Ell". BRW. Sydney. 22 May 2013. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  24. "2015 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. March 2015. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  25. "Gina Rinehart Loses Her No. 1 Spot". Forbes Asia. 27 January 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  26. Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2017). "Financial Review Rich List 2017". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  27. Mayne, Stephen (26 May 2017). "Mayne's take: The top 25 Australian billionaires, as claimed by Fairfax". Crikey. Private Media. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  28. "Australia's Richest 2017: Country's Wealthiest Continue Mining For Dollars". Forbes Asia. 1 November 2017. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  29. Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2018). "2018 AFR Rich List: Who are Australia's richest people?". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  30. Bailey, Michael (30 May 2019). "Australia's 200 richest people revealed". Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  31. "2019 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. January 2019. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  32. Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (30 October 2020). "The full list: Australia's wealthiest 200 revealed". Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  33. Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (27 May 2021). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
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