Kerr Neilson

Kerr Neilson is a successful Australian funds manager and co-founder of Platinum Asset Management.

Neilson was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He started his financial management career in the investments department of Courtaulds in London. After returning to South Africa in 1973, he moved to Australia ten years later as the head of retail funds management for Bankers Trust Australia (now BT Australia). Neilson established the Platinum Asset Management fund in 1994 with initial backing from George Soros. Platinum specialises in international equities and has an estimated $US16 billion in funds under management. Neilson is its managing director and portfolio manager. In May 2007, Neilson floated 20 percent of Platinum Asset Management on the Australian Stock Exchange. The 57 percent of the company's shares he retained were valued at A$2.9 billion, making him one of Australia's richest men. In early 2010, in the wake of the global financial crisis, Neilson's wealth was estimated by Forbes magazine at $US2.2 billion. Most recently, Neilson's wealth is estimated by Forbes magazine to be $US2.4 billion making him the 8th richest man in Australia.

Neilson is regularly likened to Warren Buffett for his ability to consistently select high-performing stocks. Neilson typically avoids "fashionable stocks", instead investing in "good companies, relatively cheaply, over the long term".

In 2009, Neilson and his wife Judith opened the White Rabbit Gallery in Sydney to share with the public their extensive collection of contemporary Chinese art.