Shaun Bonétt (born 1 January 1971) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

entrepreneur and property developer who founded and is CEO of

Precision Group Precision Group is an Australian private property investment and management company based in Sydney. Founded in the 1990s by Shaun Bonétt, it owns property in Australia and New Zealand. History Precision Group was founded in 1994 by Shaun Bo ...

Early life

Shaun Bonétt was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England, to parents of Australian and

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...

descent, Marlene and Anton Bonétt, the latter of whom was an

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

for the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

. Bonett moved to Australia in 1978 and studied at Saint Ignatius College, in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

. In the 1980s, Bonétt worked as a law clerk in Adelaide, and studied at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on ...

, graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Laws and Arts. Bonétt is also a graduate of the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Austral ...

Career

Bonétt worked for the law firm Thomson Simmons & Co from 1990 to 1996 and then as a Senior Associate at Phillips Fox Lawyers from 1996 to 1998. In 1994 when he was 24 years old, Bonétt founded

, a property investment and management company, and was involved in the re-positioning of

MacArthur Central MacArthur Central, also known as MacArthur Central Shopping Centre, in Brisbane, Australia, is a four level shopping centre that incorporates an English Renaissance styled heritage-listed building known as MacArthur Chambers. MacArthur Central i ...

, and collaborated with the

Bank of China The Bank of China (BOC; ) is a Chinese majority state-owned commercial bank headquartered in Beijing and the fourth largest bank in the world. The Bank of China was founded in 1912 by the Republican government as China's central bank, repl ...

to purchase the

Chevron Renaissance Shopping Centre Chevron Renaissance is a $400 million development on the Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a po ...

. Bonétt also negotiated the establishment of a

Tiffany & Company Tiffany & Co. (colloquially known as Tiffany's) is a high-end luxury jewelry and specialty retailer, headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It sells jewelry, sterling silver, porcelain, crystal, stationery, fragrances, water bottles, watc ...

outlet in

Adelaide Central Plaza Adelaide Central Plaza is a shopping centre located on Rundle Mall, Adelaide, South Australia. Its major tenant is David Jones, and the centre also includes a food court and about 40 retail outlets.Cummins, Carolyn (22 February 2000). "DJs sell ...

, along with three other international retailers, including David Jones. In 2003 Bonétt joined the board of directors of iSelect Health & Life Insurance, in 2005 he joined the board of Lenders Direct, and in 2007 he joined the board and became Chairman of Litigation Lending Services. In 2018 Bonétt acquired a material stake and board seat in the data analytics ASX listed company Skyfii Limited. In May 2006, Bonétt negotiated one of the largest property swap transactions in Australian history, when he swapped Precision Group's property at 160 Ann Street, Brisbane for MacArthur Central in Brisbane, in a $186 million swap transaction. In 2010 Bonétt's Precision Group was the first private Australian businesses to undertake various finance transactions with the Bank of China and Bonétt subsequently made submissions to the

Foreign Investment Review Board The Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), "examines proposals by foreign persons to invest in Australia and makes recommendations to the Treasurer on those subject to the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 and Australia's f ...

("FIRB") to enable more Australian businesses to access loans from International banks without having to first obtain FIRB approval. In 2015 Bonétt also actively supported and made representations to Government for Australia's free trade agreement with China. In 2022, the

conferred to Bonétt an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad ho ...

Personal life

In 2004, Bonétt married model, Vanessa Baron. , they have a daughter, Eve, and a son, Gabriel.

Net worth

Bonétt debuted on the ''Business Review Weekly'' (''BRW'') Young Rich List in 2006 placing third with a

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. Since financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, ne ...

of 220 million and was ranked as Australia's Richest Person 40 and Under in 2007–2008. , Bonétt's net worth was estimated by ''

The Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New S ...

'' to be 2.31

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 its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, ...

. In 2019 Bonétt's net worth was estimated by ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatewat ...

'' to be 1.17 billion (79th rank).

References

External links

Shaun Bonétt - Precision Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonett, Shaun 1971 births University of Adelaide alumni University of South Australia alumni Australian businesspeople Living people Australian billionaires Australian people of Maltese descent English people of Australian descent English people of Maltese descent Businesspeople from London Knights of Malta