Solomon Lew
Solomon Lew | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 22, 1945 Melbourne, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, investor |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Known for | Importing clothing and toys from China; investments in retail enterprises; former chairman of Coles Myer; chairman of Premier Investments |
Solomon Lew (born 22 March 1945) is an Australian entrepreneur whose primary business activities include importing clothing, toys, and various other products from China, as well as holding investments in retail enterprises.
During his teenage years, Lew operated Voyager Solo, a company that supplied dresses to the Myer Emporium in Melbourne. In 2014, following the acquisition attempt by South African retailer Woolworths for David Jones, he purchased a 10% share in the department store. Lew formerly served as both director and chairman of Coles Myer before being removed by shareholders. Additionally, he collaborated with Lindsay Fox in efforts to revive Ansett after its collapse in 2001. In 2008, he returned to the board of his publicly listed company, Premier Investments, assuming the role of chairman.
In recognition of his extensive contributions to retail, Lew was honored in 2016 as the first Australian inducted into the World Retail Hall of Fame.
Early life
Born in Melbourne to Esther () and Pinkus Lew (originally Lewkowicz), who were Polish Jewish immigrants from Częstochowa, Lew grew up in a family deeply involved in Melbourne's Jewish community. His father managed a textile business on Flinders Lane and held the position of vice-president in a landsmanshaft organization for Jews from Częstochowa before passing away when Lew was twelve years old.
Lew attended Mount Scopus Memorial College and launched Voyager Solo at age eighteen while concurrently pursuing studies in accounting and commerce through night classes.
Business career
In 1981, Parfit Investments Pty Ltd, Lew's family investment vehicle, initiated a takeover attempt for John Martin's, a department store chain based in Adelaide. The next year, another company under his control, Specular Investments Pty Ltd, placed an unsuccessful bid for OPSM, an eyewear retailer.
By 1983, Lew and his associated entities had acquired close to a 10% ownership stake in Myer Emporium Ltd. That same year, he made a proposal for a A$50 million takeover offer targeting the Australian operations of Cadbury Schweppes.
Yannon transaction
While serving as chairman of Coles Myer, Lew was linked to a transaction involving Yannon Pty Ltd, a private entity, which resulted in a financial loss of AUD 18 million for Coles Myer. An internal inquiry supported Lew’s assertion that he was unaware of the details concerning the deal. Subsequently, a four-year investigation conducted by ASIC concluded without any charges being filed.
Alan Cameron, then chairman of ASIC, noted that although Coles Myer initially incurred losses amounting to approximately AUD 18 million, it managed to recover over AUD 12 million. Lew played a role in reaching the 1996 settlement with Coles Myer. Cameron confirmed that Lew did not violate any laws during this matter.
The ABC Radio program PM summarized the situation as follows: "The Yannon arrangement involved an undisclosed indemnity provided by Coles-Myer to Yannon—a shelf company created by CS First Boston. Yannon purchased shares in Premier Investments, which was controlled by Lew and held significant shares in Coles-Myer. This indemnity protected Yannon against losses from the share transaction and ultimately cost Coles $18 million. Through agreements involving Lew and others, Coles recovered $12 million. The financing method for its own shares combined with the chairman’s involvement and lack of transparency raised serious governance concerns that led to board changes and diminished shareholder confidence."
The revelation of this deal came after Philip Bowman, Coles Myer's CFO at the time, resigned and disclosed the details publicly, triggering significant scrutiny. The investigation into potential Corporations Law violations spanned five years and amassed extensive documentation. Although ASIC recommended pursuing criminal charges against Lew and others involved, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions decided not to proceed with prosecution. The ASIC chairman highlighted that despite public concern, the matter underwent comprehensive examination.
The Etiket transaction
Lew became entangled in a contentious deal involving a specialized trust known as Etiket, which ultimately benefited his family. In 1989, this trust purchased a 2% stake in Coles Myer during a period of elevated interest rates. Although Lew provided varying accounts regarding the transaction, the shares were eventually transferred to Premier Investments, resulting in a profit of 8 million. A Queen's Counsel reviewing the matter remarked:
TESNA
Lew partnered with Lindsay Fox to form a consortium aiming to acquire Ansett Airlines following its entry into administration. They obtained exclusive rights to negotiate and secured agreements from key stakeholders, including trade unions. Nevertheless, Greg Combet from the Australian Council of Trade Unions accused Lew of reneging on those agreements. Throughout the talks, administrators continued airline operations despite substantial financial losses that diminished creditor recoveries, including employee entitlements. Lew and Fox had committed to covering 183 million in entitlement liabilities if their acquisition succeeded. Their subsequent withdrawal caused considerable embarrassment for the ACTU, which had backed their bid based on these assurances.
Coles Myer board
In September 2002, Lew was ousted from the Coles Myer board after chairman Stan Wallis orchestrated a campaign mobilizing major institutional investors to vote against him—an uncommon action targeting a sitting director. Lew reportedly spent around 10 million on his re-election effort, focusing on smaller shareholders and securing millions of proxy votes; however, he ultimately failed to retain his position.
Premier Investments, Just Group and Myer deal
Lew returned to the public corporate sphere in March 2008 as chairman of Premier Investments, which concurrently initiated a takeover offer for Just Group, a prominent Australian retailer owning brands such as Just Jeans, Portmans, Dotti, Peter Alexander Sleepwear, Jay Jays, Smiggle, and Jacqui E. Analysts criticized the bid for undervaluing Just Group and providing less than half the consideration in cash. Lew defended the offer by asserting that Just Group's trading results were worse than publicly reported.
Premier’s stationery brand Smiggle turned profitable within its first year in the UK after launching in 2015 and expanded into Hong Kong and Malaysia by 2016. Its inaugural global flagship store opened on Oxford Street in London in 2018, accompanied by a concession within Selfridges.
Premier Investments holds a 31% ownership stake in Myer and controls 25.5% of appliance manufacturer Breville, with these holdings valued at $970.5 million.
In October 2024, Premier and Myer reached an agreement for Myer to acquire Premier’s Apparel Brands division—including Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Jacqui E, Portmans, and Dotti. As part of the deal, Myer will issue new shares valued at $863.78 million to Premier and will receive an additional $82 million investment into the business from Premier. Lew is set to join Myer’s board as a non-executive director and will become its largest individual shareholder with a personal stake of 26.8%. This transaction is pending approval from shareholders of both companies.
Personal life
Lew separated from Rosie Lew AM in 2014 after forty years of marriage. Their three children play active roles within Lew’s business ventures: Peter Lew serves as chairman of P Lew Investment Group and owns BrandBank Group. Peter is married to Ally Lew and has three children; Steven married Sarah Nowoweiski in 2003 but filed for divorce in 2011; they have two children; Jacqueline wed Adam Priester in 1999 and filed for divorce in 2011; she has four children.
Lew identifies as Jewish and is affiliated with the Chabad House synagogue located in Malvern, Victoria. He was engaged with the United Israel Appeal from the late 1960s onward and founded its Action for Israel branch during the early 1980s.
In 1986, Lew contributed $450,000 to the National Gallery of Victoria to support acquiring Glenara, a work by Eugene von Guerard.
By 1999, each of his children had received AUD 170 million through the "Lew Custodian Trust."
Net worth
By May 2025, Lew's wealth was valued by the Australian Financial Review at AUD 4.11 billion, as detailed in the 2025 Rich List. He stands among a select group of seven living Australians who have consistently featured in every Financial Review Rich List or its antecedent since 1984.
In January 2019, Forbes Asia appraised his fortune at USD 1.46 billion, placing him within the top 50 wealthiest Australians. Additionally, he was positioned 33rd on The Australian's Richest 250 List as of June 2025.
| Year | Financial Review Rich List |
Forbes Australia's 50 richest | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Net worth Template:AUD |
Rank | Net worth Template:USD | |
| 2014 | ||||
| 2015 | ||||
| 2016 | ||||
| 2017 | 19 | $2.38 billion Increase | ||
| 2018 | 23 Template:Loss | $2.55 billion Increase | ||
| 2019 | 24 Template:Loss | $2.83 billion Increase | 28 | $1.46 billion Increase |
| 2020 | 24 Steady | $3.72 billion Increase | ||
| 2021 | 23 Increase | $4.37 billion Increase | ||
| 2022 | 25 Template:Loss | $4.20 billion Template:Loss | ||
| 2023 | 25 Steady | $3.97 billion Template:Loss | ||
| 2024 | 24 Increase | $4.72 billion Increase | ||
| 2025 | 37 Template:Loss | $4.11 billion Template:Loss | ||
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
| Steady | "No change compared to the prior year" |
| Increase | "An increase from the previous year" |
| Template:Loss | "A decrease relative to the preceding year" |