These are the rich Australians who use some of their considerable personal wealth to influence the public debate. They don't just make passive political or philanthropic donations, they use money to actively facilitate debate or action on political or ideological subjects they believe are in the public interest. If money is power, according cliche, then actively direct money is a way to exercise real influence.
Paul Barry
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
This week we begin profiling Australia's most influential Rich Crusaders, the people who use their cash to influence public debate and promote causes they believe in. Here, Paul Barry presents the shortlist.
Angela Priestley
Thursday, 15 March 2012
We're not sure how Clive Palmer's going to manage his time if all the court battles he's vowed to pursue in recent months actually end up in court.
Matthew Knott
Thursday, 01 March 2012
Self-made billionaire and law school dropout Clive Palmer boasts that he's got a 68-0 success rate in court cases. Here's a look back at Palmer's most high-profile legal stoushes reveals he has a formidable, if not unblemished, record.
The Power Index
Monday, 12 March 2012
Entrepreneur Dick Smith has defended Gina Rinehart's Fairfax share raid, saying that more old-style media proprietors would be good for Australia.
David Salter
Thursday, 10 May 2012
It's a de facto marriage made in populist heaven — the unholy union between the little Aussie huckster Dick Smith and the crass, unquestioning tabloid TV of A Current Affair.
James Kirby
Friday, 11 May 2012
The first Australian winner in the looming London Olympics has already emerged... it's 81-year-old Frank Lowy, who has pulled off one of his best deals ever just in time for the games, due to open in London on July 27.
Paul Barry
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
There's much more to Gina Rinehart's brutual courtroom drama than the battle to determine who controls more than $3 billion worth of assets in the Margaret Hope Hancock Trust, which was set up by Gina's father Lang Hancock in 1988.
The Power Index
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Sport's battle of the billionaires just keeps on getting better. FFA boss Frank Lowy has today finally hit back at attacks by fellow rich listers Clive Palmer and Nathan Tinkler on how he runs soccer.
Lucy Clark
Wednesday, 07 March 2012
Speculation is rife that mining billionaire Gina Rinehart wants a seat on the board of Fairfax Media.
Kath Walters
Monday, 19 March 2012
Corporate governance experts say Gina Rinehart's big shareholding in Fairfax in no way entitles her to board representation.
Rob Burgess
Tuesday, 01 May 2012
As ideas go, Canadian philosopher Barry Allen has a biggie -- and one that might help untangle the 'clash of the pygmies' that has erupted between Treasurer Wayne Swan and mining's greatest ratbag, Clive Palmer.
James Thomson
Monday, 07 May 2012
Clive Palmer’s bid to build a replica of the Titanic is yet another example of the mining magnates many, many intriguing ideas. So what are the chances of all the things he’s floated in recent years coming to fruition?
Paul Barry
Monday, 27 February 2012
These wealthy Australians don't just give to charity or donate to political parties; they use their cash to crusade for what they think is right. Sometimes, it's their self-interest, sometimes it's the public interest.
Paul Barry
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Andrew Forrest's critics say his charity efforts are just a PR play. But that's not what the people of Marysville think about him after he helped rebuild after the 2009 Victorian bushfires.
One assumes the PM's not texted Rebekah Brooks his commiserations with lol this time around.