Harry Triguboff Challenges Aussie Dream

In 1963, Harry Triguboff decided to challenge the Great Australian Dream of owning a house on a quarter-acre block.

“I looked around and I saw cottages everywhere,” the 77- year-old billionaire said of his decision to start building. “I thought it was time they lived in apartments.”

And the rest, is history ...

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In this business, you don’t have to be an architect or an engineer or a brick layer, but you have to understand how the money flows. That you can only understand if you’re on the site.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-23/billionaire-triguboff-remakes-skyline-challenges-aussie-dream.html

Stick to what you know best.
Meriton builds low cost home units for first home buyers and low income earners. Nothing else. Harry says that’s what they’re best at and that’s all they’ll do. He points to other property developers who expand in to commercial, industrial and retail property to “sustain growth” and then inevitably get in to trouble and scale back to their “core”. He says you should never leave your core in the first place.

Never be a hostage to the banks.
Back in the 60’s Meriton was caught in the credit crunch and the ANZ Bank threatened to close him down. Ever since he has vowed to never put himself in that position ever again.

Keep a personal hands-on interest in everything you do.
Harry Tiguboff personally visits every one of his developments every week. It’s why his developments are always within an hour’s drive of his office. He only started build apartments in South-East Queensland a couple of years ago after he and his wife bought a penthouse on the Gold Coast where they visit every other week. Developments are still within an hour’s drive of the Penthouse. Harry says his weekly visits give him a real feel for how the developments are progressing rather than just read someone else’s reports in the office.

http://www.kochie.com.au/harry-trguboff