Maurice Alter

Moses "Maurice" Alter (30 March 1925 – 13 April 2018) was a wealthy Australian property developer, businessman, art collector and philanthropist.

Moses "Maurice" Alter
Born	30 March 1925 Siedliszcze
Died	13 April 2018 Melbourne
Burial place	Melbourne Chevra Kadisha Springvale Cemetery
Occupation	Property developer
Board member of	Hanover Holdings (1969–78) Pacific Group (1979–2018)

Biography

He was born in March 1925 at Szedliszcz in eastern Poland as the son of Brachell and Joseph Alter.^[1] He received an education in Russia and Germany but was captured at age 13 and imprisoned in a German prisoner-of-war camp. Arriving in Australia in early 1949 as a displaced person, he was the sole surviving member of his family.^[2]

Upon arriving in Australia, Alter worked as an electrical engineer before making his first real estate investment in the mid-1950s, buying two shops and a bank in the Melbourne suburb of Kew. Around this time he married Hinda "Helen" Rubinstein, and became an Australian citizen.^[3] The couple shared an interest in music and owned an expensive contemporary art collection, which included Brett Whiteley's portrait of Charles Baudelaire.^[4]

By 1967, Alter had teamed up with developers George Herscu and Paul Fayman, who were also of Jewish-European descent. In 1969, they bought a controlling interest in a publicly listed finance company and, back-dooring into the Melbourne Stock Exchange, transformed it into the development conglomerate Hanover Holdings. Hanover mainly had interests in shopping centre construction, general investments, entertainment venues, produce wholesaling and office/residential developments. The company's success in the early 1970s, which was boosted by a property boom, formed the foundation of Alter's wealth.^[5]

Alter next to his Centrepoint Mall development on Bourke Street, c. 1978

Maurice Alter (right) with ex-prime minister Bob Hawke (left) and his second wife Blanche d'Alpuget (middle) in 1996

Net worth

Prior to his death, Alter was one of ten individuals listed on every Financial Review Rich List since the first list was published in 1984.^[6]

Real estate career

His entry into property development supposedly began with the purchase of two shops and a bank in Kew, an inner suburb of Melbourne.^[7] In 1967, Alter teamed up with developers George Herscu and Paul Fayman, both of whom were also of Jewish-European descent. In 1969, they acquired a controlling interest in a publicly listed finance company, which they transformed into the property and investment conglomerate Hanover Holdings. Hanover quickly became known for its large-scale shopping centres and mixed-use developments, profiting immensely during the early 1970s real estate boom.^[8]

Although Maurice Alter often took credit for developing the highly successful Forest Hill Shopping Centre (1964), records indicate he did not become a director of the site’s holding/management company, Forest Hill Heights, until 1967, well after construction had been completed. After Hanover was dissolved in 1977, Alter retained joint ownership of the complex with Paul Fayman before gaining complete control in 1983.^[9] In 1979, Alter consolidated his property empire as the Pacific Group, which remains under the control of his descendants and is active mostly in Victoria and South Australia.^[10][11]

Forest Hill Chase, c. 1990

Many of his shopping centres featured a Coles-Myer retail brand, often a Coles Supermarket or Target, as their primary tenant. The $32 million Centrepoint Mall at Bourke Street, Melbourne opened in 1979 as a joint venture between Alter and long-time friend and business partner Paul Fayman.^[12] Similarly the $12 million Prahan Central Shopping Centre at Chapel Street was completed in partnership with John Gandel, and the $7 million Flinders Fair Shopping Centre at Flinders Street.^[13]

Other notable retail developments carried out by the Pacific Group include Pacific Werribee in Hoppers Crossing (1985), Pacific Epping (1995), Wodonga Plaza (1988), Sunshine Plaza (1983) and the Myer complex at David Street, Albury. Alter was also instrumental in the 1989/90 redevelopment of Forest Hill Chase.^[14] In 1984, the Victorian Labor Government approved a permit for the construction of a major commercial building on a Glen Iris site owned by Alter and Hudson Conway. This building became the headquarters for Coles-Myer, generating $11 million annually in rental income and significantly boosting the site's value.^[15][16]

Net worth

Year	Financial Review Rich List		Forbes Australia's 50 Richest
	Rank	Net worth (A$)	Rank	Net worth (US$)
2011[17]			32	$0.70 billion
2012[18]			30	$0.78 billion
2013[19]			32	$0.89 billion
2014[20]			30	$0.96 billion
2015[21]			19	$1.20 billion
2016[22]			24	$1.10 billion
2017[23][24][25]		$1.81 billion	20
2018[26]	26	$2.26 billion
2019[27][28]	35	$2.33 billion	18	$2.10 billion
2020[29]	34	$2.31 billion
2021[30]	46	$2.32 billion
2022	42	$2.60 billion
2023[31]	44	$2.60 billion

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