Bob Ell

Bob Ell
Born	William Robert Ell c. 1955 Merriwa, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, property developer
Known for	Founder of Leda Group, property developments in Australia

William Robert ("Bob") Ell (born around 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and property developer whose business ventures cover residential, retail, commercial, and industrial real estate sectors.

Biography

Originating from Merriwa, New South Wales, Ell began his career as a carpenter before establishing the Leda Group in 1976. This privately held property development firm, headquartered in Sydney, conducts operations throughout Queensland, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory. His development projects include residential communities at Pimpama in Queensland, as well as Lakes and Kings Forest in northern New South Wales. Additionally, he has put forward plans for a cruise ship terminal featuring three liner berths, a marina for superyachts, three resorts, and an optional casino. His commercial assets encompass shopping centres such as Riverlink and Morayfield in Queensland, along with the Tuggeranong Hyperdome located in Canberra. By 2012, Leda had completed developments with a combined value exceeding 3 billion AUD since its founding.

Ell took Leda public on the Australian Securities Exchange during the late 1980s but reverted it to private ownership by 1990.

In 2009, Ell acted as guarantor for Michael McGurk by posting bail of 100,000 AUD on charges that were subsequently dismissed. After McGurk’s murder later that year, Ell released a statement clarifying their personal and business associations. Reports suggested that McGurk negotiated on Ell’s behalf and for associates connected to nightclub figure John Ibrahim concerning management of the Crest bar area with an investment estimated between 10 and 15 million AUD. Furthermore, Ell was considered a prospective backer of a proposed Western Sydney A-League soccer team facilitated by McGurk in 2009.

Ell was involved in a prolonged legal dispute with Greens Tweed Shire councillor Katie Milne, successfully suing her for defamation over claims that scandalously linked him to McGurk; he was awarded damages amounting to 15,000 AUD.

In 2012, Ell secured approval from the Privileges Committee of the New South Wales Legislative Council to submit a Citizen's Right of Reply on behalf of Leda Holdings. This response addressed inaccuracies contained in statements made by NSW Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann in November 2011. The Committee mandated publication of this reply.

Personal life

Ell is married to Brigit, who is twenty-six years younger than him; together they have four children: William, John, Charles, and Tiffiany. From his previous marriage to Barbara, he has one son and two daughters. He owns residences on the Gold Coast in Queensland, in Sydney, and an additional property located in Noosa Heads.

Wealth rankings

In 2014, Business Review Weekly appraised Ell’s net worth at approximately 1.29 billion AUD, while Forbes Asia estimated it at around 1.10 billion USD. In 2013, Ell listed a residential property for sale valued between 20 and 25 million AUD and sold a penthouse apartment in Potts Point for 15 million AUD; he then acquired a non-waterfront home for 30 million AUD. Between 2000 and 2002, he owned a luxury catamaran named Leda valued at 15 million AUD. According to the Australian Financial Review Rich List of 2025, his net worth is estimated at 2.48 billion AUD.

Year	Financial Review Rich List		Forbes Australia's 50 Richest
Rank	Net worth (Template:AUD)	Rank	Net worth (US$)
2010		$1.10 billion	n/a	not listed
2011	27	$1.20 billion	n/a	not listed
2012	28	$1.14 billion	n/a	not listed
2013	32	$1.13 billion	26	$0.96 billion
2014	25	$1.29 billion	22	$1.10 billion
2015			19	$1.20 billion
2016			23	$1.20 billion
2017		$1.52 billion	28
2018	48	$1.56 billion
2019	44	$1.84 billion	30	$1.42 billion
2020	47	$1.98 billion
2021	55	$1.98 billion
2022	46	$2.40 billion
2023	48	$2.43 billion
2024	49	$2.68 billion
2025	65	$2.48 billion