Australia: Len Buckeridge, Australia's 19th richest person, died of a heart attack at the age of 77 on 11 March 2014. The billionaire owner of Buckeridge Group of Companies (BGC), was a well-known and long-standing character in the Australian construction industry. The group has interests in gypsum wallboard, bricks and cement as well as residential construction.
Buckeridge built up BGC, which turns over US$2.25bn/yr, from humble beginnings in the 1960s following his training as an architect at Perth Technical College. Hard-but-fair in business, his determined approach saw him amass a personal fortune of over US$1.5bn via the group. Despite his success he retained a down-to-earth approach to the company's day-to-day operations, latterly running the business from the dining room table in his house at Mosman Park, near Perth.
His hard-nosed stance, which helped him in some aspects of his business life, also made him a controversial figure. Buckeridge was involved in a number of deeply-entrenched confrontations with construction unions in Australia. He also attempted to sue the Government in the Supreme Court over a stalled private port project. Upon his death, Buckeridge was described by former construction union boss Kevin Reynolds as 'a formidable opponent.' "People will remember Len as a person who was prepared to take on anyone and everyone whether it would be the unions, government, other employer groups or other builders," said Reynolds. "If Len believed in something he would take them on."
Buckeridge, who had been contemplating succession plans for BGC without coming to a conclusion prior to his death, owned 100% of the group. The Australian business world and the global cement and gypsum industries is awaiting news on how the future ownership of the company will look. Buckeridge is survived by his wife, six children and eight grandchildren.
