Kerry Stokes : Self-Made Man

The fascinating story behind the rabbits-to-riches ascendancy of one of Australia's most powerful men. Plucked from an orphanage as an infant, Kerry Stokes grew up in the slums and streets of post-Depression Melbourne with his itinerant adoptive parents. As a boy he trapped, skinned and sold rabbits to make ends meet, and seemed destined to a life of hardship and poverty.

Today, Stokes is one of Australia's most successful business moguls. He has interest in property, mining, construction equipment and media, and has forged strong relationships in China after foreseeing the boom there. He is a recipient of Australia's highest civil honour and in 2013 he was a nominee for Australian of the Year. He owns what is probably the finest private art collection in the country. Yet Stokes has remained relatively low-profile, and is notoriously private.

Mysterious and elusive, Stokes is the archetypal self-made man, determined to escape his past and the legacy of disadvantage. But what did he discard along the way? 'A very fine book.' Sydney Morning Herald 'Magnificent ...Simons, a seasoned journalist and lecturer ...has undertaken enormous research and detective work.' Launceston Examiner 'A must-read.' Weekly Review

About the Author

Margaret Simons is an award-winning freelance journalist and author. She is also the Director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne. She writes on media for a number of media outlets, and has published eleven books. Penguin Australia published The Content Makers in 2007. Her most recent work includes Journalism at the Crossroads, and Malcolm Fraser: The Political Memoirs co-written with former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, which won both the Book of the Year and the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction at the NSW Premier's Literary Awards in 2011.