Media Watch

Well most of you may now know that the much talked about BRW Rich 200 has been released for this year. It has attracted more media attention than ever before with 7390 google searches within the first four days after it’s publication. Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull’s return to the list has sparked a lot of controversy as the fact that he is the richest man in federal politics has been splashed across the media.

The biggest finding of this years Rich 200 is that the rich are poorer in 2009…never before has the combined wealth of the country’s 200 richest people dropped such an extent. A total of $25 billion was lost by the wealthy this past year alone.

But downturns create opportunities for the Rich 200 and also for everyone else who is willing to jump at the chance of grabbing themselves a bargain.

This years Rich 200 is dominated by property investors with 61 of the entries. This is a big increase from 51 members last year and many of these have defied the downward trend by increasing their wealth vastly through the property bargains that are prevalent in these economic conditions. Harry Triguboff alone, is worth $410 million more than a year ago mainly due to the increase in the rental market.

Property investor, John Van Lieshout, worth $1.27 billion talks about a bargain he picked up in Byron Bay. Originally acquired for $14 million by collapsed Petrac group, Van Lieshout secured the property which had gained development approval for a 34 lot subdivision for a mere $5 million. An opportunist buy he says, that once developed will be worth up to $20 million.

Van Lieshout, along with Lang Walker, Clive Berghofer & Harry Triguboff to name a few are out scouring the market for buying opportunities. You may be thinking that it’s ok for them, they have the funding to take such advantage of the market but it is still possible, even more so than before as vendors are more desperate, to get into property development using none of your own money through both joint ventures and vendor financing.

The CCORP Team!