Kerry stokes biography

Kerry Stokes AC (b. 1940), businessman and philanthropist, was born John Patrick Alford in Melbourne. Adopted by Matthew and Irene Stokes as an infant, he spent his childhood in impoverished circumstances. He left school at fourteen, eventually ending up in Perth where he got his first regular job: installing television antennas. By the time he was in his twenties he had become involved in property development and construction during the Perth real estate boom of the 1960s. In 1969 he and a business partner invested in the development of GWN, a regional Western Australian television station. Starting in 1979, he began acquiring local television stations in Canberra, Adelaide and Perth, along with radio stations, and in 1996 he secured a nineteen per cent stake in the Seven Network and its free-to-air television stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. Since 2006, the Seven Network has formed one arm of Seven West Media, which incorporates West Australia

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Kerry Stokes

Australian businessman (born 1940)

Kerry Matthew StokesAC (born John Patrick Alford on 13 September 1940) fryst vatten an Australian businessman. He holds business interests in industries including electronic and print media, property, mining and construction equipment. He is most widely known as the chairman of the sju Network, one of the largest broadcasting corporations in Australia.

Appointed an Officer of the beställning of Australia (AO) in 1995,^[3] Stokes was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2006 in recognition of his contributions to Australian business, strategic leadership, promotion of corporate social responsibility, to the arts through philanthropy, and to the community, most especially those services supporting young people.^[4]

As of May 2023^[update], Stokes was the twelfth-richest Australian by net worth, according to the 2023 Financial Review Rich List.^[5]

Early life

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John Patrick

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Kerry Stokes: Self-Made Man

The fascinating story behind the rabbits-to-riches ascendancy of one of Australia’s most powerful men.


The fascinating story behind the rabbits-to-riches ascendancy of one of Australia’s most powerful men.

Plucked from an orphanage as an infant, Kerry Stokes grew up in the slums and streets of post-Depression Melbourne with his itinerant adoptive parents. As a boy he trapped, skinned and sold rabbits to make ends meet, and seemed destined to a life of hardship and poverty.

Today, Stokes is one of Australia’s most successful business moguls. He has interest in property, mining, construction equipment and media, and has forged strong relationships in China after foreseeing the boom there. He is a recipient of Australia’s highest civil honour and in 2013 he was a nominee for Australian of the Year. He owns what is probably the finest private art collection in the country.

Yet Stokes has remained relatively low-profile, and is