The South African who started an investment firm and became one of the richest people in Australia
South African-born Kerr Neilson is one of Australia’s most successful investors and businessmen, with an estimated worth of R19.5 billion.
Neilson was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 17 October 1949. He grew up in a family of inventors and industrialists and gained an early understanding of how wealth was created through enterprise.
“My great-great-grandfather came up with a remarkable invention that reduced the amount of coal used in producing steel by a third,” he said.
That invention earned the family substantial royalties, and the lesson stuck. “Wealth came from doing, not talking.”
Neilson’s first taste of investing came from observing his mother’s modest share portfolio. “She was hopeless, I thought, but because she had one, I thought you must have a portfolio,” he said.
At the age of 13, he bought his first stock and began developing the investment habits that would define his career.
Neilson went on to earn a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Cape Town in 1971, but he also explored sociology and English, studies that helped him understand people and communication.
After training as an analyst in London at Cortaulds, he returned to South Africa but left again in the early 1980s, citing political instability. “There were 4 million voters and 30 million non-voters. I didn’t see that as sustainable,” he said.
He moved to Australia in 1983 and took a job at Bankers Trust (BT), cutting his salary by more than two-thirds to make the move.
“To get a job here, I dropped my salary from $100,000 to $30,000 a year. That was painful… suddenly I had no disposable income,” he said.
Despite the pay cut, he was attracted to what he called the firm’s dynamic environment. By the mid-1980s, he was running BT’s retail business, where he played a key role during the 1987 market crash.
The birth of Platinum Asset Management
While most investors were caught up in market optimism, Neilson and his team saw risks and positioned themselves more conservatively. A colleague developed an options strategy that helped the firm avoid major losses.
Over the following years, Neilson continued to thrive at BT. One of his best investments came when the firm acquired a 17% stake in Westfield Holdings when the market misjudged a controversial media acquisition.
“It went up maybe 10 or even 15 times,” he said. He also made money shorting the Japanese market before its crash in the early 1990s and investing in undervalued companies in Latin America during a period of hyperinflation.
In 1993, Neilson met investor George Soros at JFK Airport. Soros, impressed with Neilson’s track record, gave him capital to manage.
“He thought I actually knew what I was doing,” Neilson said. The following year, Neilson left BT and co-founded Platinum Asset Management with Andrew Clifford. Early growth was slow until MLC provided capital and distribution support.
In 2007, Platinum was listed on the ASX with $26 billion under management. Neilson said the listing helped some partners cash out and funded his wife Judy’s art projects, including the White Rabbit Gallery.
The Markets never fail to fascinate
Throughout his career, Neilson avoided short-term market trends and emphasised the importance of fundamental research. His disciplined approach even earned him comparisons to Warren Buffett.
“We’re not driven by thematics,” he said. Instead, he looked at company-specific factors and valuation. He warned investors against overreacting to news and media noise.
“The biggest problem investors have is paying too much attention to the media,” he said, identifying ‘availability bias’ as a common mistake.
In 2018, Neilson stepped down as CEO of Platinum and left the board in 2022. He still owns around 21% of the company but describes it as a small part of his portfolio.
While no longer involved in day-to-day operations, he continues to analyse stocks and speak with investors. Neilson’s long-term investment results are notable.
Between 1984 and 2023, he generated an annual return of 17.1%, compared to the MSCI Index’s 9.4%. A $10,000 investment over that period would have grown to over $5.4 million before fees.
Today, Neilson is considered one of Australia’s most experienced investors, with a net worth of AUS$1.67 billion (R19.5 billion) according to the 2025 Financial Review Rich List.
Despite formal retirement, Neilson remains active. “I will be looking at stocks, spending time with the young folk, and talking to investors or potential investors,” he said.
Markets, he added, never fail to fascinate. “You can’t possibly get bored. You can get exhausted, but not bored.” Neilson now lives in his multi-million dollar waterfront reserve home in Sydney’s Castlecrag.
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