Frank Lowy: A Second Life

Depending on the day, Frank Lowy is either the richest or the second richest man in Australia.  His story – from refugee to multi-billionaire – has become part of Australian folklore. Now in his mid 80s, Frank Lowy is still a juggernaut.  Since 2000, when his first biography, the bestselling Pushing the Limits, was published, he’s kept pushing ahead.  Rather than retreating into retirement, Frank Lowy has in fact achieved more in his ‘second life’ than most do in a lifetime.

He has turned Westfield into one of the largest retail property company in the world, dominating retail in London and Australia. He transformed Australian soccer from an insolvent shambles to a profitable mainstream sport. He created Australia’s first foreign policy think tank, the Lowy Institute, which has had an impact on the world stage. When his son faced an incurable eye disease, Lowy responded by establishing an international institute to research the disease. Finally, he completed some long unfinished spiritual business by finding an extraordinary way to ‘bury’ his father, while commemorating the half a million Hungarian Jews who perished at Auschwitz-Birkenau.   

Although he continued to drive Westfield to be ever more profitable, personal wealth was not a motivator in Lowy’s second life. It was all about intangible enrichment, of himself and of others. Covering his successes and failures, the controversies and the triumphs, Frank Lowy: A Second Life gives rare insight into this extraordinary man, his strategies, his pain and his achievements.

‘Creative non-fiction at its very best … Margo has approached [Lowy’s life] as would a story-teller. And this approach makes A Second Life one of the most enjoyable biographies it’s possible to read. This is biography on steroids, as entertaining as a good novel, as informative as an encyclopaedia.’ Jewish News