Paul Ramsay, Australia’s gentleman billionaire, has died at the age of 78 after suffering a heart attack on his private yacht while on holiday in Spain.
Worth an estimated $3 billion Ramsay was Australia’s 9th richest person with the bulk of his fortune tied up in the company he founded exactly 50 years ago, Ramsay Health Care.
After studying law and working briefly with his father in a surveying business the then 28-year-old Ramsay acquired a large house on Sydney’s North Shore, converting it into a 16-bed psychiatric hospital.
Rapid expansion followed, with an investment in a television network added to the chain of private hospitals.
Survived A Financial Crisis
Growth was not without the occasional hiccup. In 1988, shortly after listing on the Australian stock exchange the aftershocks of a stock-market crash in the previous year triggered a financial crisis for Ramsay, leading him to de-list his business for four years, returning in 1992 after repairing the company’s damaged balance sheet.
The past 22 years saw his business blossom into one of Australia’s top 50 companies with Ramsay Health Care operating 150 hospitals in five countries, Australia, Britain, Indonesia, Malaysia and France. The hospitals provided employment for 30,000 people and medical services to 1.4 million patients a year.
Over the past five years, Ramsay Health Care has been one of the best performing companies on the Australian market thanks to a combination of government incentives to encourage private hospitals, the ageing population and a corporate reputation for providing excellent service under Ramsay’s strong leadership.
The company followed six principles laid down by Ramsay, including integrity and honesty in dealing with everyone involved with the hospital business.
No Clear Succession Plan
After suffering his heart attack late last month Ramsay was admitted to a Spanish hospital before being flown home to Australia without regaining consciousness. He died at his home near Bowral in New South Wales.
At the time of Ramsay’s death his 36.2% stake in Ramsay Health Care was valued at $A3.27 billion ($3 billion).
Always approachable in the early years of his career Ramsay avoided the media in later years, while also trimming his business and personal interests. The television stake was sold, and he ended a three-year term as chairman of the Sydney Football Club in 2012.
Ramsay has not left a clear succession plan. He was not married and has no children. He leaves a twin sister, Anne, and a brother, Peter.
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