Leonard Hasting "Len" Ainsworth (born ) is an Australian businessman, most widely known for founding

Aristocrat Leisure Aristocrat Leisure Limited is an Australian gambling machine manufacturer, which has its administrative and research headquarters in the Sydney suburb of North Ryde. It has marketing and development offices in South Africa, Russia and the Unit ...

, one of the world's largest gambling-machine companies. He founded the company in 1953, and remained active until 1994; and later founded Ainsworth Gaming Technology, and was an executive director until 2019.

Career

Ainsworth inherited a small business from his father and began making poker machines to boost revenues for his dental supplies and equipment manufacturing venture. This side-line quickly grew, and Aristocrat Leisure was born in 1953. Today, it is one of the world's largest manufacturers of

slot machines A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

and online gaming entertainment. Following a 1984 diagnosis of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

, Ainsworth sold Aristocrat, giving significant funds to his family, several members of which continue the tradition of philanthropy. Following a clear diagnosis, Ainsworth initially retired and then established Ainsworth Gaming Technology, a manufacturer of up to about 35 percent of Australia’s gambling machines. Ainsworth sold his majority stake in Ainsworth Gaming Technology to Novomatic for 473 million, when he was aged 94 years.

Personal life

Ainsworth has seven sons, five to his first wife Betty and later, two to his second wife Margarette (Gretel). In 2018, Ainsworth was appointed as a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) for his impact on business and manufacturing as well as his service to the community through philanthropic contributions. Ainsworth has donated to the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation, UNSW, St Vincent’s Private Hospital and the

Children's Medical Research Institute Children's Medical Research Institute (CMRI) is an Australian medical research institute located in Westmead that conducts research into children's genetic diseases. , current research is focused on cancer, birth defects, neurological condition ...

, the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (UOW) is an Australian public university, public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately south of Sydney. , the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 s ...

, and the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

. He has been awarded two honorary doctorates, the first by the University of NSW and most recently in 2019 by the

. Ainsworth signed

The Giving Pledge The Giving Pledge is a charitable campaign, founded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, to encourage wealthy people to contribute a majority (i.e. more than 50%) of their wealth to philanthropic causes. , the pledge has had 236 signatories from 28 ...

in March 2017.

Net worth

In 2019, Ainsworth was ranked 42nd on the ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' list of 50 wealthiest Australians, with an estimated

net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, so net w ...

of 900 million. , Ainsworth was listed 24th on the ''

Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...

'' 2025 Rich List with an estimated net worth of 6.69

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: * 1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is now the most common sense of the word in all varieties of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ainsworth, Leonard Hastings 20th-century Australian philanthropists Australian billionaires Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Australian philanthropists Members of the Order of Australia 1920s births Australian company founders People from Kempsey, New South Wales