Shaun Bonétt

Shaun Bonétt (born 1 January 1971) is an Australian entrepreneur[1] and property developer who founded and is CEO of Precision Group.[3][4]

Shaun Bonétt
Born
Shaun Keith Alfred Bonétt

(1971-01-01) 1 January 1971
London, England, UK
NationalityAustralian/British/Maltese[1]
EducationSaint Ignatius College
University of Adelaide[1]
OccupationEntrepreneur and property developer
Parent(s)Anton and Marlene Bonétt[2]

Early life

Shaun Bonétt was born in London, England, to parents of Australian and Maltese descent,[1] Marlene and Anton Bonétt, the latter of whom was an oncologist for the World Health Organization.[2] Bonett moved to Australia in 1978.[5] In the 1980s, Bonétt worked as a law clerk in Adelaide, and completed a degree of Laws and Arts at the University of Adelaide in 1991.[1][6] He previously studied at Saint Ignatius College.[1]

Career

Bonétt worked for the law firm Thomson Simmons & Co from 1990 to 1996 and then as a Senior Associate at Phillips Fox Lawyers from 1996 to 1998.[2]

In 1994 when he was 24 years old, he founded Precision Group.[6] Through Precision, he was involved in the re-positioning of MacArthur Central,[7] and collaborated with the Bank of China to purchase the Chevron Renaissance Shopping Centre.[8] Shaun Bonétt also negotiated the establishment of a Tiffany & Company outlet in Adelaide Central Plaza, along with three other international retailers,[9] including David Jones.[10]

In 2003 he joined the board of directors of iSelect Health & Life Insurance, in 2005 he joined the board of Lenders Direct, and in 2007 he joined the board and became Chairman of Litigation Lending Services.[2] Bonett has also established a charitable organization called the Heartfelt Foundation.[5] In 2018 Bonétt acquired a material stake and board seat in the data analytics ASX listed company Skyfii Limited.[11]

In May 2006, Bonétt negotiated one of the largest property swap transactions in Australian history, when he swapped Precision Group's property at 160 Ann Street, Brisbane for MacArthur Central in Brisbane, in a $186 million swap transaction.[7]

Bonétt debuted on the Business Review Weekly (BRW) Young Rich List in 2006 placing third with a fortune of $220 million[12] and was ranked as Australia’s Richest Person 40 and Under in 2007/2008.[13] Bonétt's wealth, as of 2018, was estimated by the BRW Rich List to be $718 million (96th rank),[14] a number that climbed from $220 million in 2006[15] and $478 million in 2015.[16] In 2019 Bonett’s wealth was estimated by The Australian Business Review to be $1.17 billion (79th rank).[17]

In 2010 Bonétt’s Precision Group was the first private Australian businesses to undertake various finance transactions with the Bank of China and Bonétt subsequently made submissions to the Foreign Investment Review Board ("FIRB") to enable more Australian businesses to access loans from International banks without having to first obtain FIRB approval.[18] In 2015 Bonétt also actively supported and made representations to Government for Australia's free trade agreement with China.[19]

Philanthropy

Bonétt is a Trustee and Patron of youth and enterprise charity The Prince's Trust Australia, which aims to help unemployed young people around the globe into education, training and work.[20][21] In addition, he is Deputy Chairman and Founding Donor of Life Education Australia, the largest preventative health organisation in the country, whose primary objective is raising funds to help children make healthy lifestyle choices.[22][23]

Awards and recognition

Bonétt was awarded the Knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta on 14 April 2010. In November 2015 Bonétt addressed the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the 24th meeting of the heads of government of the Commonwealth of Nations on the topic of "Infrastructure needed for our future cities".[24][25]

References
  1. Gibson, Story Candy. "$220 million reasons to smile". The University of Adelaide Magazine. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  2. "Department of Information". Department of Information - Malta. 25 September 2009. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2016. Mr Shaun Bonett is the son of the late Dr Anton and Mrs Marlene Bonett. Dr Anton Bonett was a cancer specialist who came to Australia with the World Health Organization in the late 1970s.
  3. "New kid on the very rich block". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 September 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  4. "Shaun Bonett". Business Review Weekly. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2016. Property investor and former lawyer Shaun Bonett is positive about the coming year.
  5. Grech, Herman (28 September 2007). "Maltese property developer tops Australia's young rich-list". Times of Malta. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  6. Carter, Bridget (25 September 2008). "Shopping centre magnate Shaun Bonett took risks early on". The Australian. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  7. "Precision swaps offices for shops". The Australian Financial Review. 25 May 2006. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2016. Precision Group founder Shaun Bonett is already planning how to reposition Brisbane's MacArthur Central Shopping Centre, which he acquired yesterday for $119.5 million.
  8. Cranston, Matthew (27 February 2015). "Bank of China backs Gold Coast centre: Apple a likely tenant". The Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  9. Tauriello, Giuseppe (26 August 2013). "Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Topshop in talks to open Adelaide stores". The Advertiser. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  10. "Revamp for SA plaza". Inside Retail. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  11. Lenaghan, Nick (13 June 2018). "How a shopping centre owner targets consumers in $133m revamp". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  12. "Wealth: simple as ABC". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 September 2006. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  13. "New kid on the very rich block". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 September 2007. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  14. "Financial Review Rich List 2018". Fairfax Media. 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  15. "Wealth: simple as ABC". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 September 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2016. The chief executive of ABC Learning Centres is now Australia's richest person aged 40 years and under, the latest annual BRW Young Rich list shows...Property developer Shaun Bonett debuted on the list at No. 3, with $220 million.
  16. "BRW Rich 200 List 2015". Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd. 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  17. "The List — Australia's Richest 250". The Australian. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  18. Cranston, Matthew (27 February 2015). "Bank of China backs Gold Coast centre: Apple a likely tenant". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  19. Cranston, Matthew (2 September 2015). "Rich Lister Shaun Bonett says China free trade will underpin property values". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  20. "Patrons & Supporters". The Prince's Trust. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  21. "Trustees". The Prince's Trust. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  22. "The Life Education Foundation". Life Education Australia. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  23. "Our Boards". Life Education Australia. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  24. "Travelling the globe, London to LA, an insight into the travels of Billionaire Shaun Bonett". Yahoo! News. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  25. Bonétt, Shaun (18 December 2015). "How to overcome our biggest hurdle to growth". The Australian. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
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