Rene Rivkin

Rene Rivkin
Born	Rene Walter Rivkin 6 June 1944(1944-06-06) Shanghai, China
Died	1 May 2005(2005-05-01) (aged 60) Darling Point, New South Wales
Occupation	Stockbroker and Entrepreneur
Spouse	Gayle Perkins
Parents	Walter Rivkin, Rachel Rivkin.

Rene Rivkin (6 June 1944 – 1 May 2005) was an Australian entrepreneur, investor, investment adviser, and stockbroker. He was a well-known stockbroker in Australia for many years until his death in 2005.

Early life

Rene Walter Rivkin was born 6 June 1944 in Shanghai, China to Russian-Jewish parents in what was then Japanese-occupied China. His father, Walter, was a Georgian-born trader who had fled to China in the 1920s to escape the Bolsheviks. The elder Rivkin had also once been a champion boxer in Shanghai. The family emigrated to Australia in 1951. Rivkin attended the selective Sydney Boys High School in Moore Park. In accordance with his father's wishes, he went on to study law at the University of Sydney. He went on to become the youngest ever member of the Sydney Stock Exchange.

Career

Rene Rivkin will be remembered as one of Australia's most famous stockbrokers and entrepreneurs in a career that spanned over 30 years. In December 1985, Rene Rivkin was voted Business Review Weekly magazine's Stockbroker of the Year. Later, Rivkin gained recognition with his publication of the Rivkin Report, in which he would advise what stocks to buy and sell, and provide market analysis. He became famous in the Australian media for his entrepreneurial flair and wealth. He was associated with all of the leading political, media and business figures in Australia between 1982-1999 and became a household name.

Rivkin sold his share of stockbroking firm Rivkin James Capel after an operation to remove a tumour and the 1987 stockmarket collapse. He was the Chairman and chief investor in the plant that was destroyed in the Offset Alpine fire on 24 December 1993. He owned and part owned many businesses during his lifetime, including a half share of John Singleton Advertising between 1986 and 1991 with his friend John Singleton (Australian entrepreneur). He subsequently founded another stockbroking firm.

Conviction for insider trading

In April 2003, following a long-running investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), he was found guilty of insider trading after having purchased 50,000 Qantas shares after being made aware of information in relation to an impending merger of Qantas and Impulse Airlines. He was charged with using confidential and market-sensitive information, having purchased – on behalf of Rivkin Investments – 50,000 Qantas shares on 24 April 2001, just hours after speaking to the executive chairman of Impulse, Gerry McGowan. The trade resulted in a profit of $2,664.94.

Rivkin was convicted and sentenced to nine months periodic detention on weekends. His sentence was delayed so he could undergo urgent surgery for a meningioma. His period of custody was punctuated with time served at Long Bay Psychiatric Hospital. After serving two days of his sentence at Sydney's Silverwater Correctional Centre, Rivkin collapsed and was hospitalised.

Death

Banned for life from having a stockbroking licence following the serving of his sentence, Rivkin lived quietly in his Point Piper mansion and retired from business life. He was suffering from mental illness during this period. He later moved to the Darling Point home of his elderly mother where he took his own life on 1 May 2005. His funeral was widely attended by many notable people from Sydney's business community at Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park where his body was cremated on 6 May 2005. He was survived by his wife and five children.

Further reading

• Main, Andrew (2005) Rivkin, Unauthorised: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of an Unorthodox Money Man, HarperCollins, Sydney, ISBN 0-7322-8089-3
• Chenoweth, Neil (2006) Packer's Lunch: A Rollicking Tale of Swiss Bank Accounts and Money-Making Adventurers in the Roaring '90s, Allen & Unwin, ISBN 9781741145465.
• Littlewood, Nigel (1999) Rivkin's Rules, Information Australia, Melbourne, ISBN 1 86350 264 5.

External links

• The Rivkin Report
• Rivkin found guilty of insider trading
• Rivkin sentenced for insider trading
• Rene Rivkin found dead