Victor Smorgon

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Biographical Information

Victor Smorgon, patriarch of Australia's richest family, died in 2009.

"Smorgon was the chairman of Victor Smorgon Group, which had a diverse range of investments including pallet manufacturer Vicfarm Plastics, clothing company General Pants and Smorgon Fuels.

"Last week, Victor Smorgon Group-backed investment company Co-Investor led the recapitalisation of embattled digital marketing firm CommQuest.

"The Smorgon family was valued at $2.2 billion in this year's BRW Rich 200.

"Smorgon arrived in Australia in 1927 from the Ukraine with his father Norman Smorgon and Norman's two brothers, Moses and Abraham. The trio established a kosher butcher shop in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton, which would later grow into an empire known as Smorgon Consolidated Industries, covering meat exporting, plastics, glass, steel, paper, forestry and property.

"The dismantling of this Smorgon Consolidated Industries empire began in 1995 as the company sold of various business divisions and distributed the proceeds amongst the family's seven branches.

"The last part of the empire, Smorgon Steel, was sold to OneSteel in 2007.

"Victor Smorgon Group remained one of the most visible wings of the Smorgon family, thanks to its diverse interests."