Victor Smorgon, patriarch of Australia’s richest family, died this morning aged 96.
Smorgon was the chairman of Victor Smorgon Group, which had a diverse range of investments including pallet manufacturer Vicfarm Plastics, clothing company General Pants and Smorgon Fuels.
Last week, Victor Smorgon Group-backed investment company Co-Investor led the recapitalisation of embattled digital marketing firm CommQuest.
The Smorgon family was valued at $2.2 billion in this year’s BRW Rich 200.
A statement from Victor Smorgon’s family said they “are all deeply saddened by his passing away peacefully in the early hours of this morning”.
“Victor was always been highly grateful to Australia for the opportunities this country afforded him and gave generously to hospitals, schools and the arts, particularly in Victoria.
“A great Australian industrialist and a true family man, Victor is profoundly missed by his large family and we are all grateful for the kind words that have been conveyed to us today.”
Smorgon arrived in Australia in 1927 from the Ukraine with his father Norman
Smorgon and Norman’s two brothers, Moses and Abraham. The trio established a kosher butcher shop in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton, which would later grow into an empire known as Smorgon Consolidated Industries, covering meat exporting, plastics, glass, steel, paper, forestry and property.
The dismantling of this Smorgon Consolidated Industries empire began in 1995 as the company sold of various business divisions and distributed the proceeds amongst the family’s seven branches.
The last part of the empire, Smorgon Steel, was sold to OneSteel in 2007.
Victor Smorgon Group remained one of the most visible wings of the Smorgon family, thanks to its diverse interests.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
