Harry Triguboff

Harry Triguboff
Harry Triguboff
Born	Harry Oskar Triguboff; March 3, 1933 (age 93); Dalian, Republic of China
Other names	"high-rise Harry"
Occupation(s)	Real estate entrepreneur, property developer
Years active	1950–present
Known for	Founder and managing director of Meriton
Notable work	Development of over 55,000 residential units; Sydney's World Tower

Harry Oskar Triguboff (born 3 March 1933) is an Australian billionaire real estate entrepreneur and ranks among the country's wealthiest figures. He established and currently leads Meriton as managing director, earning the moniker "high-rise Harry".

Early life and education

Born in 1933 in Dalian, Republic of China, Triguboff is the son of Russian Jewish parents Moshe and Frida. His father relocated to China in 1916 to escape antisemitic persecution in Russia. Growing up within Tianjin's Jewish community, his father managed a business trading wool, silk, and leather. Despite the challenges posed by the Second Sino-Japanese War, including allegations of collaboration with Japanese forces—which were later dismissed—his family expanded their commercial interests.

After being refused visas to Canada and the United States in 1946, the family obtained Australian immigration approval. Triguboff arrived in Sydney in 1948 amid governmental scrutiny regarding his father's wartime conduct but was ultimately allowed entry. He attended Scots College before earning a degree in textiles from the University of Leeds. His early career included textile industry roles in Israel and South Africa prior to returning to Australia in 1950, where he became a citizen in 1961.

His initial business ventures involved managing a taxi service and a milk delivery route in Chatswood. After a brief period working in real estate sales and supporting university activities, he acquired land in Roseville and completed construction on his own residence following a builder's failure to fulfill the contract—an experience that served as a catalyst for his future development career.

Career

Building upon his first development project, Triguboff purchased a second parcel of land in 1963 on Smith Street, Tempe, collaborating with partners to construct eight units. Following this profitable venture, he developed 18 units in Gladesville in 1968 and named his company Meriton Apartments Pty Ltd after Meriton Street. As managing director, by 2015 Meriton had delivered over 55,000 residential townhouses and apartments, establishing itself as Australia's leading residential property developer. Annual apartment completions increased from roughly 1,000 units in 2010 to more than 3,000 by 2015. Concentrating on markets such as the Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Sydney CBD, Triguboff positioned Meriton as the nation's foremost apartment builder. He has publicly supported increasing Australia's population to 100 million.

In 2004, Meriton finalized Sydney's tallest residential structure, World Tower. However, in 2012 the company was involved in legal proceedings concerning construction defects and contractual breaches at this site, with maintenance claims exceeding A$1 million. By 2015, Triguboff had overseen the development of about 55,000 residential units.

Since 1998, Meriton has been a sponsor of the Wests Tigers rugby league team and maintained its support through club mergers and beyond.

In September 2023, Triguboff inaugurated a new Meriton hotel, which elevated the enterprise's estimated worth to $7.2 billion and positioned it as Australia's largest hotel company owned and operated domestically. Earlier that year in June, Meriton revived plans to build up to 1,600 homes on land near Sydney’s Little Bay purchased for approximately $250 million despite facing public resistance and ongoing lobbying efforts.

By September 2023, Triguboff supervised the openings of new hotels in Canberra, Melbourne, and Liverpool near Sydney, expanding Meriton Suites to encompass 6,204 apartment suites across 23 locations. The company invested $400 million into these three hotel projects. In October 2023, approval was granted for a three-tower apartment development at Surfers Paradise.

In December 2024 on the Straight Talk with Mark Bouris podcast, Triguboff voiced concerns regarding the potential dominance of Chinese migrants within Australia.

Politics and lobbying

Triguboff is a major contributor to political parties and uses his position to influence policy reforms. In August 2010, he called on the federal government to encourage the Reserve Bank to reduce interest rates in order to improve housing affordability.

Personal life

Born in China and of Jewish descent, Triguboff has two daughters, Orna and Sharon, from his first marriage. His second spouse, Rhonda, died in September 2024. He lives in Sydney and maintains an extensive car collection.

Net worth

According to the Australian Financial Review 2025 Rich List, as of May 2025 Triguboff's net worth was valued at AUD 29.65 billion. He is among only seven Australians who have featured in every edition of the Financial Review Rich List since it began in 1984. In 2016, with a fortune of AUD 10.62 billion, he held the title of Australia’s wealthiest person for that year. Forbes Asia estimated his net worth at USD 11.3 billion in 2021.

The majority of Triguboff’s fortune stems from leasing most of his properties to both short- and long-term tenants, capitalizing on property value growth. In 2023, the Australian Richest 250 list placed his net worth at AUD 23.6 billion.

Year	Financial Review Rich 200		Forbes Australia's 50 Richest
Rank	Net worth (AUD)	Rank	Net worth (USD)
2011	7 Template:Loss	$4.30 billion Increase	5	$3.40 billion Increase
2012	7 Steady	$4.85 billion Increase	5 Steady	$5.80 billion Increase
2013	6 Increase	$4.95 billion Increase	6 Template:Loss	$4.60 billion Template:Loss
2014	8 Template:Loss	$5.50 billion Increase	7 Template:Loss	$4.30 billion Template:Loss
2015	3 Increase	$10.23 billion Increase	2 Increase	$5.60 billion Increase
2016	1 Increase	$10.62 billion Increase	3 Template:Loss	$6.90 billion Increase
2017	2 Template:Loss	$11.40 billion Increase	2 Increase	$9.90 billion Increase
2018	2 Steady	$12.77 billion Increase	2 Steady
2019	3 Template:Loss	$13.54 billion Increase	2 Steady	$9.00 billion Increase
2020	7 Template:Loss	$14.42 billion Increase
2021	align=center 6 ↑	align=right $17.27 billion ↑		align=right $11.30 billion ↑
2022	align=center 6 steady	align=right $21.20 billion ↑
2023	align=center 4 ↑	align=right $23.80 billion ↑
2024	align=center 2 ↑	align=right $26.49 billion ↑
2025	align=center 2 steady	align=right $29.65 billion ↑

Legend
Icon	Description
Steady	No change from previous year
Increase	Increase from previous year
Template:Loss	Decrease from previous year

Honours

Triguboff was named a Member of the Order of Australia on 26 January 1990 in recognition of his achievements in construction, building, and charitable work. Later, on 7 June 1999, he was elevated to Officer of the Order for his significant contributions to community service and the residential building sector. Notably, he became the inaugural recipient to be awarded Australia's Property Person of the Year twice, earning the accolade in both 2003 and 2009.

Philanthropy

The Harry Triguboff Foundation has supported various causes, including funding the initiative at the Shorashim Center, which assists immigrants to Israel in confirming their Jewish lineage. In 2010, Triguboff took on a mentorship role for finalists in the Business Review Weekly competition "Win a Week With a Billionaire," offering practical business exposure within Meriton.

External links