Kerr Neilson, the Australian billionaire is the CEO, Managing Director of Platinum Investment Management Limited in Sydney. Platinum is known for its focus on international equities and is a highly successful company. The Forbes magazine has ranked Neilson eighth among top 50 billionaires in Australia with his real time net worth coming to US$2.7 billion as of June 2015.

Neilson owns 55.5 percent of his company, after cashing the rest in a 2007 IPO. What makes him unique is his value-based contrarian stock picking that earned him comparisons with Warren Buffett, says the introduction note by Forbes. In 1994, Neilson set up the fund in Sydney after he relocated to the city from South Africa for an assignment with Bankers Trust Australia. Prior to that, he was working in London.

Professional Success

Neilson manages Platinum's global mandates with his vast experience in financial markets, both in brokering and funds management. He also served as an Executive Vice President at Bankers Trust of Australia. In Platinum, Neilson is credited with making important contributions in managing the firm's retail funds, according to Bloomberg. The 70- year old billionaire is married and has two children with his wife Judith.

Many see Neilson’s success as a reflection of his penchant to go against the curve and in taking a long-term view of the market with affordable companies. It is this approach that made Platinum Asset Management one of the top investment companies in the world and placed Neilson in the club of elite investors like Buffett. Sharing his perspective on what makes brilliant investment, Neilson said, “You have to respect the crowds, but you have to veer away from them from time to time and that takes a lot of discipline.” He told a media interview in 2014 that: “Investing is like passive hunting. It’s great fun! So the key here is that you’re always trying to outrun the competition, you’re always trying to find a new angle on something. The more you see, the more you think you can see. You build on your past experiences. It’s a cumulative effect. You always want to learn more.” In the present economic climate, depreciation of the Australian dollar is a favourable climate for Neilson and his Platinum Asset Management, as the company reports its financial results in Australian currency.

Asset Partition

Recently, Neilson was in news for his divorce, which is going to be of one of Australia’s biggest ­divorces. Neilson is reportedly ready to hand over a slice of his multi-billion dollar empire to wife Judith Neilson, who is an ace art collector. The couple’s extensive property portfolio includes a highly valued Warung St mansion in McMahons Point and a vast estate in Duffys Forest, reports Telegraph.

(For feedback/comments, contact the writer at k.kumar@ibtimes.com.au)

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