Alan Bond

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Lore & Background

Alan Bond was born on 22 April 1938 in Hammersmith, London, the son of Frank and Kathleen Bond. In 1950, aged 12, he emigrated to Australia with his parents and elder sister Geraldine, settling in Fremantle. At 14, he was charged with stealing and being unlawfully on premises; at 18, he was arrested for being unlawfully on premises and reportedly admitted planning a robbery. He began his career as a signwriter under the name 'Nu-Signs' after terminating his apprenticeship 18 months early. In 1956 he was charged with attempted burglary after police found him roaming Fremantle in State Electricity Commission overalls carrying tools. Nu-Signs became Lesmurdie Heights, then Bond Corporation in 1959. In the 1960s he was one of WA's largest borrowers from finance companies. His interests expanded into brewing (controlling Castlemaine Tooheys and G. Heileman Brewing Company), gold mining, television, and airships. In 1987 he purchased Vincent van Gogh's Irises for $54 million—the highest price ever paid for a single painting at the time—funded by a loan from Sotheby's that he failed to repay. The transaction was criticised as possibly a manipulated sale. That same year he organised the Bond Centre in Hong Kong, a twin tower skyscraper complex later known as the Lippo Centre. Bond became a public hero when his Australia II syndicate won the 1983 America's Cup, breaking the longest winning streak in sport. He was selected as 1978 Australian of the Year (jointly with Galarrwuy Yunupingu) and received an Order of Australia as an Officer. In 1987 he paid $1.05 billion to purchase the Channel Nine television network from Kerry Packer. After bankruptcy in 1992, he feigned brain damage to avoid answering questions during bankruptcy trials. In 1997 he was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to using his controlling interest in Bell Resources to deceptively siphon off A$1.2 billion into Bond Corporation; he served four years. He was stripped of his Order of Australia.

Reader's Guide

Alan Bond's significance lies in his dual legacy as a national hero for the America's Cup victory and as a symbol of corporate corruption in Australia. His central role in the WA Inc scandals and the collapse of Bond Corporation—the biggest corporate collapse in Australian history—exposed the risks of unchecked lending and speculative business practices. His criminal conviction for fraud, involving the deceptive siphoning of A$1.2 billion, led to a prison term and the stripping of his honours. Despite this, Bond returned to investment activities after release, appearing on the Business Review Weekly 'Rich 200 List' in 2008. His founding of Bond University remains a lasting institutional legacy, while his America's Cup triumph is celebrated as one of Australia's greatest international sporting achievements. The controversy over the Irises purchase, criticised as a manipulated sale designed to artificially inflate values, further illustrates the blend of ambition and questionable ethics that defined his career.

Did You Know?

• At age 14, Bond was charged with stealing and being unlawfully on premises; at 18, he was arrested for unlawful entry and reportedly admitted planning a robbery.
• Bond paid $54 million for Vincent van Gogh's Irises in 1987, the highest price ever paid for a single painting at the time, funded by a loan from Sotheby's that he failed to repay.
• He feigned brain damage to avoid answering questions during bankruptcy trials, a charade he saw no need to keep up afterwards.
• In 1997, Bond was sentenced to seven years in prison for siphoning A$1.2 billion from Bell Resources into Bond Corporation; he served four years.
• After his release, Bond returned to the Business Review Weekly 'Rich 200 List' in 2008, in 157th spot with an estimated wealth of $265 million.

From Hammersmith to Fremantle: A Restless Beginning

Alan Bond arrived in the world on 22 April 1938 in Hammersmith, London, the son of Frank and Kathleen Bond. His childhood was uprooted when, at just twelve, he crossed the globe with his parents and elder sister Geraldine to settle in Fremantle, a port town near Perth in Western Australia. The teenager who emerged from that relocation was far from docile. By fourteen he had been charged with stealing and being unlawfully on premises, and by eighteen police had him in custody again for unlawful entry, with reports suggesting he confessed to having planned a robbery. His first foray into commerce was equally unconventional: he abandoned his signwriting apprenticeship eighteen months before it was due to conclude and set up a small operation called Nu-Signs. In 1956, while still in his late teens, he was charged with attempted burglary after officers spotted him wandering Fremantle's streets wearing State Electricity Commission overalls and carrying tools. The signwriting venture was eventually rebranded Lesmurdie Heights, then Bond Corporation in 1959, laying the groundwork for a property empire that would make him one of Western Australia's most prominent figures during the expansionary 1960s.

Breaking the America's Cup Curse

For over a century, the America's Cup sailing trophy had been an unbroken symbol of New York Yacht Club dominance, held continuously since 1851. That streak ended in 1983 when the Australia II syndicate, funded by Alan Bond, crossed the finish line as victors, shattering what was then the longest winning run in the history of competitive sport. The achievement sent shockwaves through the Australian public, who embraced Bond as a national hero. His sustained financial commitment to the America's Cup campaign had already earned him the 1978 Australian of the Year honour, awarded jointly with Aboriginal leader Galarrwuy Yunupingu, and the 1983 victory further cemented his standing. The win was widely regarded as one of Australia's greatest international sporting achievements of any era, and Bond received the Order of Australia at the Officer grade in recognition. For a man who had arrived in Fremantle as a twelve-year-old immigrant, the America's Cup represented the moment his name became inseparable from Australian identity on the world stage.

An Empire of Unconventional Ambitions

At the height of his influence, Bond's business portfolio stretched far beyond the property development that had first made his name in Western Australia. He took controlling stakes in brewing operations on both sides of the Tasman, including Castlemaine Tooheys in Australia and G. Heileman Brewing Company in La Crosse, Wisconsin, with the former becoming the subject of the landmark constitutional case Castlemaine Tooheys Ltd v South Australia. His interests also spanned gold mining, airships, and television. In 1987 he acquired the Brisbane station QTQ-9, resolving a lingering defamation dispute with Queensland premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen by paying A$400,000, a sum he later explained was necessary because 'Sir Joh left no doubt that if we were going to continue to do business successfully in Queensland then he expected the matter to be resolved.' That same year, he paid a then-record $54 million for Vincent van Gogh's painting Irises, a purchase funded by a loan from auction house Sotheby's that he never repaid and which critics suspected was designed to inflate the art market. He also established the Bond Centre, a twin-tower skyscraper complex in Hong Kong later acquired by Indonesia's Lippo Group, and in 1987 founded Bond University on the Gold Coast, Australia's first private university.

The Collapse: Bankruptcy, Fraud, and Imprisonment

The trajectory that had carried Bond from a signwriter in Fremantle to one of Australia's most visible business figures reversed with devastating speed. In 1992 he was declared bankrupt after defaulting on a $194 million personal guarantee tied to a nickel-mining loan, with his total reported debts reaching approximately $1.8 billion. During the subsequent bankruptcy proceedings he reportedly feigned brain damage to avoid answering questions, a performance he felt no obligation to maintain once the legal pressure eased. He was compelled to sell Glympton Park, a UK estate he had purchased in 1988. By 1995 his family had bought him out of bankruptcy, with creditors accepting a payment of A$12 million, a little over half a cent per dollar. Yet the legal reckoning was not over. In 1997 Bond was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to using his controlling interest in Bell Resources to deceptively siphon off A$1.2 billion into the coffers of the Bond Corporation. The funds were used to shore up the cash resources of the ailing Bond Corporation, which spectacularly collapsed, leaving Bell Resources in a precarious and uncertain position. He was stripped of his 1984 honour as an Officer of the Order of Australia. He was released from Karnet Prison Farm in 2000, having served four years in various Western Australian prisons.