Rupert Hordern Myer (born 13 August 1958) is an Australian businessman and philanthropist. He is a member of the Myer family, which, in 2014, was the sixth wealthiest family in Australia, with a net worth of more than $2 billion in properties and a diversified investment portfolio. The largest investment portfolio is managed by The Myer Family Company, where Rupert Myer was chairman until 2012. Myer's grandfather,

Sidney Myer Sidney Myer (born Simcha Myer Baevski (); 8 February 18785 September 1934) was a Russian-born Australian Jews, Jewish-Australian businessman and philanthropist, best known for founding Myer, Australia's largest chain of department stores. Earl ...

, was the founder of

Myer Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of products a ...

, the largest department store company in Australia, and his father, Baillieu Myer, also served as company chairman. He serves as a director on the boards of Amcil (),

Ecargo eCargo Holdings Limited (ASX: ECG) is a “One-stop Shop” Online-to-Offline enabler, servicing international brands and retailers entering the Asian market. It maintains operating companies in China, Vietnam and Australia trading under the bran ...

() and

Healthscope Healthscope is a for-profit Australian company which operates private hospitals, medical centres and rehabilitation hospitals. The company is headquartered on St Kilda Road, Melbourne. It operates medical/surgical hospitals and a number of psyc ...

(). Myer is a supporter of

the arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both h ...

, and has served as chairman of both the

Australia Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austr ...

and the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in t ...

Education

Myer attended Trinity College while studying at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb n ...

, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree. He subsequently gained a Master of Arts from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Arts and philanthropy

He serves as a member of the Felton Bequests’ Committee and as a board member of Jawun – Indigenous Corporate Partnerships, Creative Partnerships Australia, The

Myer Foundation The Myer Foundation is a major Australian philanthropic organisation. History The Sidney Myer Charitable Trust was established by the will of Sidney Myer, who died in 1934, leaving a portion of his estate for the benefit of the community. Myer's ...

, The Australian International Cultural Foundation and The University of Melbourne Faculty of Business and Economics Advisory Board. He is also an emeritus trustee of The National Gallery of Victoria. Myer chaired the Australian Government’s Inquiry into the Contemporary Visual Arts and Crafts Sector which completed its report in 2002. Myer was the chair of The

from 2012 until 2018 . His previous roles in the arts include serving as chairman of the

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder o ...

, Capital Fund, Kaldor Public Art Projects and

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited ar ...

Foundation and as a trustee, National Gallery of Victoria, a board member, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, a member of the advisory board, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, a member, National Council & Melbourne Committee, The Australian Opera (now

), and as a council member, Australian Association of Philanthropy (now Philanthropy Australia). He served on the board of

from when it was separated from Coles Myer Limited in 2006 until 2015.

Awards and honours

Myer became a member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

in January 2005 for service to the arts, for support of museums, galleries, and the community through a range of philanthropic and service organisations. He was made an officer of the Order of Australia in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myer, Rupert 1958 births Living people Australian people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Businesspeople from Melbourne Alumni of the University of Cambridge Officers of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian businesspeople Fellows of the Australian Institute of Company Directors People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) Myer family