“It’s not about being the richest, it’s about winning.” - Harry Triguboff

Harry Triguboff is Australia’s richest person and one of the richest property people in the world.  He has changed the face of Australia, the way Australians live but says you can’t put a dollar value on that.

“Rich” means “growth” to me. “Growth” means “winning.” The more I fought over 60 years, the more I won, the more I built. To this day, I am still working, still contributing and still fighting. I’m still doing what I’ve done my entire life. The extra zeros just help put more roofs over heads. It is about the people; it always has been.

I believe I have done more than anyone else for housing in Australia. I have never rested on my laurels and when I make up my mind about something, I’m a dog with a bone – and sadly for those who get in my way – I’m not all bark.

Working in property day in and day out for over 60 years, I realised there was not going to be enough housing in the future. Government was screaming “oversupply” while I was fighting to build more. The shortage applied to rental housing as well.

I may have supplied more than 80,000 homes, but I needed to build at least double that to avoid the shortage we now have. And I would have supplied only half as many if I hadn’t fought the system.

When I first started out, I couldn’t believe how much land in Sydney was zoned for apartments. Nobody was buying it, so nobody was building on it.

Apartment living was a must have in New York, London and Beijing but the great Australian dream was still a cottage in the suburbs on a quarter-acre block. As far as I was concerned, a Hills Hoist was no competition for a Triguboff Tower.

Even while apartments were becoming status symbols around the world, resistance to living the high life in Australia was strong.

Built-to-rent and serviced apartments may seem like post-millennium ingenuity, but I was doing both back in the 1990s. You had to respond to an ever-changing market, and it was good to have alternatives when the market changed course.

The most important lesson I learned about the apartment market is that it can change direction with absolutely no warning. You have to be ready to turn on a sixpence. Because of what I learned early, Meriton could do that.

For over 60 years, I have never taken my eye off the ball.

Many times, I did the opposite to what was considered the norm. I initially listened when I was told, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” I bought a few different investments and while they were somewhat successful, I still wanted to do something that supported change and growth in a bigger way.

Then came Meriton and I put all my eggs – sales, built-to-rent, serviced apartments and vendor finance, into that one Meriton basket.

Diversification is fine if you stick to what you know.

When I decided to go into property, I decided to learn absolutely everything I could about it: building, design, construction, government regulations, finance and the extensive legalities involved.

I understood everything going on around me and, better still, I knew what was happening in every area of my own business.

More importantly, I could make decisions quickly because I had that acquired knowledge and because I was the boss. I didn’t have to refer to anybody else.

That remains one of Meriton’s greatest strengths.

We are not forced to sell off-the-plan. We do, of course, but if we decide to wait until our buildings are complete before we sell, we can do it.

Other developers are dependent on the banks. They need to sell a percentage of their buildings before banks will give them finance. That is another noose around their necks.

I don’t have to worry about that because I pay for the land with cash and I build with cash. I don’t need to ask anyone’s permission about when I sell.

My job now is to work on the problems holding housing back. Too often that means fighting the governments and the banks. It would be far better if we could work together.

My team is the very best. They are all over the design, construction and build so I can concentrate on what I do best – solving problems. And there are some very big problems to solve.

I have made property my life. Specifically, apartments.

I know many of the old laws, regulations and legislation need to be updated if we are going to make significant change. Unfortunately, resistance to change remains strong from people who don’t really understand the industry.

We are keeping skilled workers out, reputable developers and builders are going broke because of the exorbitant construction costs, and essential workers are leaving, particularly in Sydney, because they cannot afford to live here.

How is any of that driving the market in the right direction?

Even buyers who can afford to buy are holding back. Many would rather leave their money in the bank than be interrogated by that same bank when they ask for a loan.

Yet, we are still selling because we give buyers confidence.

They can use our vendor finance and they know Meriton will complete every time. They know our quality and they know our great locations. Most importantly, they trust us to deliver.

I know there will never be another Harry Triguboff and there will only ever be one Meriton. Nobody could start today the way I started more than 60 years ago and build the same business.

That is why I am still at the helm, guiding the ship. My grandson Daniel is doing more of the steering these days but absolutely it’s still my job to keep us headed in the right direction. While I can go to site and come into the office every day, that will never change.