The Ledger / Kerry Stokes
Kerry Stokes
◼ Origin
Australian media mogul who built Seven Group Holdings and the Seven Network through acquisitions; started in business via TV broadcasting and expanded into industrial services (WesTrac Caterpillar dealer) and media.
◼ Self-Made Verdict — YES
Left school at 14; built media and industrial empire through TV broadcasting acquisitions; no inherited business capital.
◼ Documented marks
01
The West Australian does not publish photos of Komatsu trucks. His newspaper; his competitor. Connect the dots.
02
Spent A$35M backing a man the Federal Court found had murdered unarmed Afghan civilians. Called the journalists who exposed it scumbags.
03
Claimed A$47M in pandemic wage subsidies while profitable, then refused to repay a dollar.
04
The man who really runs Western Australia owns the only major daily newspaper in Perth, the state mining equipment dealer, and Pauline Hanson's Sunrise appearances.
05
His mining clients need favorable coverage. His newspaper provides it. This is not journalism — it is service.
06
Built Seven Group Holdings through TV broadcasting (Seven Network) and industrial services (WesTrac, the Caterpillar equipment dealer for Western Australia and ACT).
07
Left school at 14; began in TV repair and then built a media empire through Channel Seven acquisitions in the 1980s-90s.
08
WesTrac is the authorized Caterpillar dealer for Western Australia, New South Wales, and ACT, benefiting from Australia's mining boom.
09
In 2021, Seven West Media (which Stokes controls) was criticized by the Australian Press Council for editorial decisions reflecting Stokes's personal business and political interests.
10
Stokes controls Seven Group Holdings with ~67% voting power; also controls Boral Limited (construction materials) and has stakes in Beach Energy.
No inheritance, or primary accounts documented for this billionaire yet.
◼ List of charges
Total sentence
0–0 years
That is
0.0–0.0 life sentences
(using 78 years as one life)
These are moral charges, not legal ones. The actual legal system has not — and will not — bring them.
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