Frank Lowy
Frank Lowy | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 22, 1930 Czechoslovakia (present-day Slovakia) |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, philanthropist |
| Known for | Chairman of Westfield Corporation; founder of Lowy Institute; chairman of Football Federation Australia |
Sir Frank P. Lowy (born 22 October 1930) is a businessman holding dual Australian and Israeli citizenship, with Jewish heritage tracing back to Slovak-Hungarian roots. He served as the chairman of Westfield Corporation, a multinational enterprise managing shopping centres valued in the billions across the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe. In June 2018, the French company Unibail-Rodamco completed the acquisition of Westfield.
Lowy was the first chairman of Scentre Group, which owns and operates Westfield shopping centres throughout Australia and New Zealand.
He established the Lowy Institute, recognized as Australia's foremost foreign policy think tank, which has been characterized variously as "neoliberal," "centre-right," and "reactionary." Additionally, Lowy chairs the Institute for National Security Studies (Israel), an autonomous research institution dedicated to Israel’s national security and Middle Eastern geopolitical issues.
Early life
Born in Czechoslovakia (present-day Slovakia), Lowy spent part of his childhood in a Hungarian ghetto during World War II. In 1946, he traveled to France and embarked on the vessel Yagur destined for Mandatory Palestine. However, British forces intercepted the ship, detaining passengers in a camp located in Cyprus. Subsequently, Lowy became a member of the Haganah and served in the Golani Brigade, participating in combat operations during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War across regions including the Galilee and the Gaza.
Career
In 1952, Lowy emigrated from Israel to Australia to reunite with his family, who had established a modest goods delivery enterprise. The following year, he joined forces with fellow immigrant John Saunders to create a shopping complex in Blacktown, initiating what later became known as Westfield Development Corporation. Over the ensuing three decades, they broadened their portfolio of shopping centres throughout Australia and, starting in 1977, expanded into the United States market. The company was publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1960. Saunders departed the business in 1987; subsequently, Lowy extended Westfield’s reach into New Zealand during the 1990s and further into the United Kingdom by the 2000s.
Lowy held a position as Director at the Reserve Bank of Australia from 1995 until 2005. In 2008, investigations were launched concerning his family’s alleged connections to offshore accounts in tax havens following leaked documents from Liechtenstein’s LGT Bank. Lowy refuted any misconduct, and after comprehensive audits by both US and Australian authorities, no charges were pursued.
Upon reaching 80 years of age in 2010, Lowy relinquished his role as executive chairman of Westfield Group in May 2011, transitioning to non-executive chairman while his sons Steven and Peter assumed joint CEO responsibilities. By October 2015, he fully retired from his chairmanship at Scentre Group, marking the end of a remarkable 55-year leadership chapter.
Personal life
In 1954, Lowy wed Shirley Rusanow, whom he had met at a Jewish dance when he was 21 years old. They have three sons: Peter and Steven, who both managed the Westfield operations, and David, responsible for overseeing the family’s private investment ventures. Shirley founded the Chai Foundation, an organization dedicated to financing research into cancer treatments with reduced toxicity. Peter holds the position of chairman at Tribe Media Corp, which owns the Jewish Journal, and has also served as chairman of the University of Judaism.
In the 2010 Australian television series Family Confidential, Lowy disclosed that he had kept hidden details about how he survived during Nazi occupation in Hungary.
Lowy moved back to Israel at the close of 2018. Lady Lowy passed away in Tel Aviv in December 2020 after a prolonged battle with dementia. In the documentary What Will Become of Us, which was featured at the 2019 Sydney Film Festival, Lowy spoke openly about the emotional toll caused by witnessing his wife’s gradual decline.
Net worth
Lowy is among seven individuals who have consistently appeared on the Financial Review Rich List (previously known as the BRW Rich 200) since its start in 1984. In 2010, BRW estimated his wealth at AUD 5.04 billion, naming him Australia’s wealthiest individual at that time. By 2016, his net worth had risen to AUD 8.26 billion and remained steady through 2017 when the list was renamed to its current title. As of May 2025, his fortune was valued at AUD 10.28 billion.
According to Forbes Asia in January 2019, Lowy's net worth was estimated at US$6.5 billion, ranking him fourth among Australia’s top fifty richest people.
| Legend |
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Football in Australia
During the 1980s, Lowy served as president of the Hakoah Social Club, affiliated with Hakoah Sydney City East FC, a team competing in the National Soccer League (NSL) from 1977 through 1986. After witnessing a disappointing turnout of only 5,187 spectators at the 1987 season opener, Lowy withdrew Hakoah from the league and exited the football scene entirely by 1988. His re-engagement came only after the collapse of both the NSL and Soccer Australia in 2004, events precipitated by mismanagement and unfavorable television contracts.
In response to this turmoil, Prime Minister John Howard and Sports Minister Rod Kemp commissioned the 2003 Independent Soccer Review Committee report (known as the 'Crawford Report'), which advocated for a new governing board headed by Lowy. He proceeded to dissolve Soccer Australia and founded the "Australia Soccer Association," later rebranded as Football Federation Australia (FFA) to reflect international football nomenclature. Despite this, Lowy chose to overlook significant Crawford recommendations concerning board diversity and representation of teams, thereby centralizing authority over the sport’s administration.
Lowy held the chairmanship of the FFA from 2003 until November 2015. Together with John O'Neill, he is credited with rejuvenating Australian soccer through initiatives such as launching a broadcast-friendly "A-League" and securing Australia's inclusion in the Asian Football Confederation.
In 2007, Lowy spearheaded an Australian bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, backed by government funding amounting to AUD 43 million. Despite vigorous campaigning, allegations of corruption and political maneuvering overshadowed the effort, culminating in FIFA awarding hosting rights to Qatar.
In 2015, Lowy experienced a fall during an A-League trophy ceremony which necessitated surgery due to complications arising from the incident.
After concluding his tenure at FFA, Lowy transferred leadership responsibilities to his son Steven Lowy, a move that sparked debate over nepotism given Steven’s limited background in football governance. This transition triggered internal conflicts and prompted FIFA intervention, leading to reforms in governance structures, separation of A-League management from FFA oversight, and modifications at board level. Subsequently, Steven resigned, and Lowy divested his remaining shares in Sydney FC during this period.
Philanthropy
Lowy is widely acknowledged for his substantial contributions across various philanthropic domains. In 2002, Philanthropy Australia recognized him as the nation’s foremost philanthropist following donations totaling AUD 10 million.
To commemorate five decades in Australia in 2003, Lowy established the Lowy Institute for International Policy, an autonomous think tank dedicated to foreign policy and Australia’s international engagement, funded initially with AUD 30 million. In 2008, he partnered with the Packer family to contribute an undisclosed amount toward the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. Furthering his commitment to medical research, in 2010 Lowy and his family donated AUD 10 million to create the UNSW Lowy Cancer Research Centre, a joint venture between the Children's Cancer Institute Australia and the University of New South Wales Faculty of Medicine.
Extending his philanthropic reach globally, Lowy donated $18 million to Tel Aviv University in 2022.
March of the Living
In April 2013, Lowy took part in the March of the Living, recounting his father’s tragic death during the Holocaust before thousands of students gathered at Auschwitz-Birkenau for Holocaust Remembrance Day. His father, Hugo Lowy, was murdered at Auschwitz after refusing to abandon his Jewish prayer items. To honor Hugo and other Hungarian Jews deported there, Lowy commissioned restoration of a railway wagon used for transporting Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz and placed it at the former camp site.
Addressing attendees during the memorial event, Lowy stated: "Here I stand with you all in Birkenau. I know he stood here too, beneath this very sky. Like nearly half a million Hungarian Jews, he arrived here in a wagon and shortly thereafter vanished like smoke into the air. I was just 13 when I lost my father; now I am 82—and even now, I still miss him."
Awards and recognition
In 2000, Lowy was honored as a Companion of the Order of Australia in recognition of his significant impact on property development and retail growth both domestically and internationally, as well as his philanthropic contributions. Two years later, in 2002, he was presented with the Golden Plate Award by the American Academy of Achievement. The creation of the Lowy Institute led to him receiving the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship in 2005.
Lowy was also the recipient of the Henni Friedlander Award for the Common Good at Bowdoin College in 2007. The following year, in 2008, Australia Post acknowledged him among five prominent living philanthropists by issuing a commemorative postage stamp as part of the Australian Legends series.
He was knighted during the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours (UK) for his services to business and charitable work. Most recently, in November 2024, Lowy received Israel’s highest civilian accolade, the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honour, which he shared with Melbourne-based lawyer Mark Leibler. This award recognized his dedication to Israel and his support for Jewish communities within Australia.
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