Maurice Alter
Moses "Maurice" Alter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 30 March 1925 |
| Died | 13 April 2018 |
| Burial place | Melbourne Chevra Kadisha Springvale Cemetery |
| Occupation | Property developer |
| Board member of | Hanover Holdings (1969–78) Pacific Group (1979–2018) |
Moses "Maurice" Alter (30 March 1925 – 13 April 2018) was a wealthy Australian property developer, businessman, art collector and philanthropist.
Biography
[edit]He was born in March 1925 at Szedliszcz in eastern Poland as the son of Brachell and Joseph Alter.[1] He received an education in Russia and Germany but was captured at age 13 and imprisoned in a German prisoner-of-war camp. Arriving in Australia in early 1949 as a displaced person, he was the sole surviving member of his family.[2]
Upon arriving in Australia, Alter worked as an electrical engineer before making his first real estate investment in the mid-1950s, buying two shops and a bank in the Melbourne suburb of Kew. Around this time he married Hinda "Helen" Rubinstein, and became an Australian citizen.[3] The couple shared an interest in music and owned an expensive contemporary art collection, which included Brett Whiteley's portrait of Charles Baudelaire.[4]
By 1967, Alter had teamed up with developers George Herscu and Paul Fayman, who were also of Jewish-European descent. In 1969, they bought a controlling interest in a publicly listed finance company and, back-dooring into the Melbourne Stock Exchange, transformed it into the development conglomerate Hanover Holdings. Hanover mainly had interests in shopping centre construction, general investments, entertainment venues, produce wholesaling and office/residential developments. The company's success in the early 1970s, which was boosted by a property boom, formed the foundation of Alter's wealth.[5]
Net worth
[edit]Prior to his death, Alter was one of ten individuals listed on every Financial Review Rich List since the first list was published in 1984.[6]
Real estate career
[edit]His entry into property development supposedly began with the purchase of two shops and a bank in Kew, an inner suburb of Melbourne.[7] In 1967, Alter teamed up with developers George Herscu and Paul Fayman, both of whom were also of Jewish-European descent. In 1969, they acquired a controlling interest in a publicly listed finance company, which they transformed into the property and investment conglomerate Hanover Holdings. Hanover quickly became known for its large-scale shopping centres and mixed-use developments, profiting immensely during the early 1970s real estate boom.[8]
Although Maurice Alter often took credit for developing the highly successful Forest Hill Shopping Centre (1964), records indicate he did not become a director of the site’s holding/management company, Forest Hill Heights, until 1967, well after construction had been completed. After Hanover was dissolved in 1977, Alter retained joint ownership of the complex with Paul Fayman before gaining complete control in 1983.[9] In 1979, Alter consolidated his property empire as the Pacific Group, which remains under the control of his descendants and is active mostly in Victoria and South Australia.[10][11]
Many of his shopping centres featured a Coles-Myer retail brand, often a Coles Supermarket or Target, as their primary tenant. The $32 million Centrepoint Mall at Bourke Street, Melbourne opened in 1979 as a joint venture between Alter and long-time friend and business partner Paul Fayman.[12] Similarly the $12 million Prahan Central Shopping Centre at Chapel Street was completed in partnership with John Gandel, and the $7 million Flinders Fair Shopping Centre at Flinders Street.[13]
Other notable retail developments carried out by the Pacific Group include Pacific Werribee in Hoppers Crossing (1985), Pacific Epping (1995), Wodonga Plaza (1988), Sunshine Plaza (1983) and the Myer complex at David Street, Albury. Alter was also instrumental in the 1989/90 redevelopment of Forest Hill Chase.[14] In 1984, the Victorian Labor Government approved a permit for the construction of a major commercial building on a Glen Iris site owned by Alter and Hudson Conway. This building became the headquarters for Coles-Myer, generating $11 million annually in rental income and significantly boosting the site's value.[15][16]
Net worth
[edit]| Year | Financial Review Rich List |
Forbes Australia's 50 Richest | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Net worth (A$) | Rank | Net worth (US$) | |
| 2011[17] | 32 
|
$0.70 billion 
| ||
| 2012[18] | 30
|
$0.78 billion
| ||
| 2013[19] | 32
|
$0.89 billion
| ||
| 2014[20] | 30
|
$0.96 billion
| ||
| 2015[21] | 19
|
$1.20 billion
| ||
| 2016[22] | 24
|
$1.10 billion
| ||
| 2017[23][24][25] | $1.81 billion | 20
|
||
| 2018[26] | 26
|
$2.26 billion
|
||
| 2019[27][28] | 35
|
$2.33 billion
|
18
|
$2.10 billion
|
| 2020[29] | 34
|
$2.31 billion
|
||
| 2021[30] | 46
|
$2.32 billion
|
||
| 2022 | 42
|
$2.60 billion
|
||
| 2023[31] | 44
|
$2.60 billion 
|
||
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Icon | Description |
|
|
Has not changed from the previous year |
|
|
Has increased from the previous year |
|
|
Has decreased from the previous year |
References
[edit]- ^ "Notice of naturalisation". The Australian Jewish News. 22 October 1954. p. 15.
- ^ Debrett's Handbook of Australia and New Zealand (2nd ed.). Sydney: Debrett's Peerage. 1984.
- ^ "Certificates of Naturalisation". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (73): 3828. 13 December 1956.
- ^ Business Review Weekly: The Magazine of Australian & New Zealand Business · Volumes 1-2. 1991. p. 48.
- ^ McDougall, Graeme (26 November 1975). "Hanover gets inside offer". The Age. p. 21.
- ^ Thomson, James (22 May 2013). "Celebrating 30 years of the Rich 200". BRW Rich 200. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ "MAURICE ALTER". Australian Financial Review. 6 April 1990. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
- ^ McDougall, Graeme (26 November 1975). "Hanover gets inside offer". The Age. p. 21.
- ^ "BRW Rich 200 list 2014: 20. Maurice Alter". 26 June 2014.
- ^ "THE LIST - AUSTRALIA'S RICHEST 250". The Australian. 15 March 2024. p. 66.
- ^ "Juilliard's $1bn sell-off". The Australian. 21 December 2017.
- ^ "Centrepoint to boost mall". The Australian Jewish News. 12 October 1979. p. 29.
- ^ "All the goodies under one roof". The Australian Jewish News. 23 February 1979. p. 31.
- ^ "Shopping centres boost retail market". The Australian Jewish News. 1 March 1991. p. 12.
- ^ "Shopping centres boost retail market". The Australian Jewish News. 1 March 1991. p. 12.
- ^ Johanson, Simon (1 December 2017). "Alters look to sell Melbourne shopping centres". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
- ^ "2011 Australia's 40 Richest". Forbes Asia. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ^ "2012 Australia's 40 Richest". Forbes Asia. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ "2013 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "2014 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. January 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ "2015 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. March 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ^ "Gina Rinehart Loses Her No. 1 Spot". Forbes Asia. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2017). "Financial Review Rich List 2017". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ Mayne, Stephen (26 May 2017). "Mayne's take: The top 25 Australian billionaires, as claimed by Fairfax". Crikey. Private Media. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- ^ "Australia's Richest 2017: Country's Wealthiest Continue Mining For Dollars". Forbes Asia. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2018). "2018 AFR Rich List: Who are Australia's richest people?". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
- ^ Bailey, Michael (30 May 2019). "Australia's 200 richest people revealed". The Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "2019 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. January 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- ^ Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (30 October 2020). "The full list: Australia's wealthiest 200 revealed". The Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- ^ Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (27 May 2021). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- ^ Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (26 May 2023). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 6 June 2023.