John Symond

John Joseph Symond AM (born 17 August 1947) is an Australian entrepreneur, former financial executive, and the founder of Aussie Home Loans.

John Symond

AM
Born (1947-08-17) 17 August 1947
Crookwell, New South Wales
Education
OccupationEntrepreneur
Net worth A$891 million (AFR 2020)[1]
Spouse(s)
Amber McDonald
​
(m. 2016)​
Children2

Early life

Symond was born on 17 August 1947 in Crookwell, New South Wales and raised in Sydney. He spent most of his time between Brisbane, where his mother's family lived, and Sydney, near his father's relatives. He was one of seven children and the son of Lebanese immigrant fruit shop owners, and regularly helped at his parents shop before and after school.

He attended eleven different schools, including St Patrick's College, Strathfield, St Laurence's College, South Brisbane and Homebush Boys High School where he matriculated in 1965. After leaving school, Symond studied law and joined a firm in Bankstown where he learned conveyancing and specialised in property and finance.

Career

By the late 1980s, he had created a boutique financial services company, Mortgage Acceptance Corporation (MAC), that specialised in finding and providing commercial and investment loans to investors. One of Australia's first mortgage brokers, he eventually undertook a joint venture with Beneficial Finance, a subsidiary of State Bank of South Australia. When State Bank of South Australia went broke in the 1980s, he came within a whisker of bankruptcy, and it was this negative experience with a bank that formed the basis of the Aussie philosophy – offering better deals and better customer service to everyday Australians.

Aussie Home Loans

Supported by a $10,000 loan[2] from his older brother Michael, Symond founded Aussie Home Loans in February 1992 and was able to fulfil his ambition. Symond was widely credited with bringing competition to the Australian home lending industry and was the first major disruptor to the banks oligopoly of the Australian home loan market. The company was unique in its approach to home loans, offering 24 hours a day service and loans far cheaper than those offered by banks. In 1994 Aussie introduced securitisation to its home loans, allowing it to offer loans upwards of 3% cheaper than its competitors. In 2002, Aussie Home Loans diversified to become a mortgage broker – offering bank and non-bank products.[3]

The company rapidly grew as consumers became aware of its products and that of other non-banks and the competition heated up. In August 2008 the Commonwealth Bank acquired a 33% stake in Aussie.[4] Aussie acquired Wizard Home Loans in February 2009 and National Mortgage Brokers (nMB) in 2012. The Commonwealth Bank increased its investment in Aussie from 33 per cent to 80 per cent in May 2013, then to 100 per cent in August 2017.[5] Symond was the Chairman of Aussie from 2017 until November 2020; while his nephew, James Symond, continues to serve as the Chief Executive Officer.[6]

Personal life
Symond's home Wingadal, in Point Piper.

Symond has two children, Stephen and Deborah. He has been involved with numerous organisations such as Jeans for Genes and is a former chairman of the Sydney Opera House Trust.

Symond has been married to Amber McDonald since February 2016.[7]

He has a substantial collection of Australian art deco and contemporary art including works of Brett Whiteley and Sidney Nolan. In 2017 he took delivery of a 73-metre (240 ft) Dutch built Feadship named Hasna, believed to have cost more than $100 million.[8]

Symond built a palatial home called Wingadal in the Sydney suburb of Point Piper that is now estimated to be worth over $100 million. He put it on the market in 2016 but withdrew it two months later in 2017.

Net worth

As of 2020, Symond's net worth was assessed as A$891 million, as published in The Australian Financial Review 2020 Rich List.[9]

Year Financial Review
Rich List		 Forbes
Australia's 50 Richest
Rank Net worth (A$) Rank Net worth (US$)
2017[10][11] $673 million
2018[12] 134 $621 million
2019[9] 157 $638 million
2020[1] 112 $891 million
Legend
Icon Description
Has not changed from the previous year
Has increased from the previous year
Has decreased from the previous year

Awards

Symond was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2002 for service to the mortgage industry in Australia, particularly the home finance sector, and to the community.[13] In 2004, he was inducted into the Australian Banking and Finance Magazine's Hall of Fame in May 2004 – the first non-banker to be admitted.

In August 2011, he was listed eighth in a poll by The Australian Financial Review of the most influential business, economic and political leaders of the past 60 years.[14] In August 2012, he was named Australian Father of the Year.[15] In July 2013 he was honoured with the 2013 Gold Harold Humanitarian Award, at the sixth annual Gold Harold Awards, for his ongoing philanthropic interest in children's causes and charities.

References
  1. Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (30 October 2020). "The full list: Australia's wealthiest 200 revealed". The Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  2. "John Symond on life, love and work". Daily Telegraph. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  3. "About Aussie". Aussie Home Loans blog. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  4. "Commonwealth Bank Group". www.commbank.com.au. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  5. Johnston, Eric (18 December 2012). "CBA takes control of Aussie Home Loans". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  6. "John Symond retires as Chairman of Aussie" (Press release). Aussie Home Loans. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  7. "Home loan king weds love interest". Daily Telegraph. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  8. Slade, Jack (5 August 2019). "'Aussie' John Symond Selling His Yacht HASNA For $160m". Boss Hunting. Retrieved 17 November 2020.]
  9. Bailey, Michael (30 May 2019). "Australia's 200 richest people revealed". The Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  10. Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2017). "Financial Review Rich List 2017". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  11. Mayne, Stephen (26 May 2017). "Mayne's take: The top 25 Australian billionaires, as claimed by Fairfax". Crikey. Private Media. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  12. Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2018). "2018 AFR Rich List: Who are Australia's richest people?". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  13. "Member of the Order of Australia (AM) entry for Mr John Joseph Symond". It's an Honour, Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 10 June 2002. Retrieved 17 November 2020. For service to the mortgage industry in Australia, particularly the home finance sector, and to the community.
  14. "AFR readers vote most influential". The Australian Financial Review.
  15. "John Symond is Father of the Year". Herald Sun. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
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