Frank Lowy

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Frank Lowy

Nationality	Australian

Frank Lowy AC (born 22 October 1930 in Fiľakovo (Hungarian: Fülek), Czechoslovakia) is an Australian businessman and the second richest person in Australia. He is known for his co-founding and continuing involvement with The Westfield Group, a retail giant that owns dozens of shopping centres in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Great Britain.

Born in Czechoslovakia to a Jewish family. Lowy migrated to Australia after World War II, starting out delivering small goods. In 1953, he met fellow Hungarian immigrant John Saunders (born Jenö Schwarcz). The pair became business partners, eventually creating Westfield (Saunders left the company in 1987). Business Review Weekly measures Lowy's wealth at A$6.3 billion, making him Australia's second richest person, behind Andrew Forrest on A$9.41bn and ahead of James Packer on A$6.1bn.^[1]

In May 2001, Westfield paid $US127 million for a 99-year lease on the retail area beneath the New York World Trade Center. In September 2003 it received $US17.3 million as a party in the insurance claim following the terrorist attack on the twin towers.^[2] On February 18, 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that Westfield, "the largest owner of shopping centres in California and the world", had agreed to acquire 15 stores from Federated Department Stores, all but three in southern California.^[3]

In 2003 Frank Lowy set up the Lowy Institute for International Policy, an international policy think tank devoted to foreign affairs.^[4] This has led to Lowy being awarded the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship in 2005.^[5]

Lowy has become involved with the newly created Football Federation Australia, which has replaced the now defunct Soccer Australia. Many observers credit him and John O'Neill, a former rugby union executive, with resurrecting football (soccer) in Australia. A well structured A-League is now in place, and the country has become a member of the Asian Football Confederation.

Lowy was a board member of the Reserve Bank of Australia and has been awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia.

In May 2007 it was reported that Lowy faced Israeli police investigation over a corruption scandal involving Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, however, he was relieved of all charges following an investigation and all charges were dropped^[6]

On October 2, 2007, Lowy received the Henni Friedlander Award for the Common Good at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, United States.^[7]