Kerry Stokes: Self-Made Man

The fascinating story behind the rabbits-to-riches ascendancy of one of Australia’s most powerful men.

Plucked from an orphanage as an infant, Kerry Stokes grew up in the slums and streets of post-Depression Melbourne with his itinerant adoptive parents. As a boy he trapped, skinned and sold rabbits to make ends meet, and seemed destined to a life of hardship and poverty.

Today, Stokes is one of Australia’s most successful business moguls. He has interest in property, mining, construction equipment and media, and has forged strong relationships in China after foreseeing the boom there. He is a recipient of Australia’s highest civil honour and in 2013 he was a nominee for Australian of the Year. He owns what is probably the finest private art collection in the country.

Yet Stokes has remained relatively low-profile, and is notoriously private. 

Mysterious and elusive, Stokes is the archetypal self-made man, determined to escape his past and the legacy of disadvantage. But what did he discard along the way?