Rene Rivkin

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Rene Rivkin (6 June 1944 – 1 May 2005) was an Australian entrepreneur, stockbroker, and investment adviser. He was the country's best known stockbroker, and one of its most successful until his conviction for insider trading and subsequent suicide.

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[edit] Early life

Rivkin was born in Shanghai, China to Russian Jewish parents. They made fortunes in Shanghai and had links with the East India Company [citation needed] . The family emigrated to Australia in 1951. Rivkin attended Sydney Boys High School and completed a law degree from the University of Sydney. He went on to become the youngest ever member of the Sydney Stock Exchange.

[edit] Career

Rivkin became Australia's most famous stockbroker and published the Rivkin Report, in which he would advise what stocks to buy and sell, and provide market analysis. In 2000 it was exposed that he had sold shares he was advising others to buy.

With his flamboyant lifestyle and extravagant collections of art and classic cars, Rivkin was famous for his personality as much as his achievements. He was usually portrayed with worry-beads and smoking a cigar. He was believed to suffer from bipolar disorder [citation needed].

Rivkin sold his share of stockbroking firm Rivkin James Capel after an operation to remove a tumour, and the 1987 stockmarket collapse.

[edit] Conviction for insider trading

In April, 2003, following a long running investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), he was found guilty of insider trading after having purchased 50,000 Qantas shares which resulted in a $346 profit. Rivkin and his supporters disputed the conviction, arguing that a flimsy case succeeded because of his high profile.

Rivkin was sentenced to nine months periodic detention on weekends. His sentence was delayed so he could undergo urgent surgery for a meningioma. His period of custody was punctuated with time served at Long Bay Psychiatric Hospital. After serving two days of his sentence at Sydney's Silverwater Correctional Centre, Rivkin collapsed and was hospitalised. Amid accusations disputing his illness, Rivkin was treated in hospital for pancreatitis, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and major depression [citation needed]. More controversy followed when a fellow detainee was paid by The Sun-Herald newspaper to illegally smuggle in a mobile phone and take photos of Rivkin. Rivkin's health concerns meant weekend detention stints were often delayed for weeks at a time.

At the same time, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission and the Australian Tax Office continued investigating Rivkin's shareholdings relating to the Offset Alpine affair.

[edit] Death

Banned for life from having a stockbroking licence following the serving of his sentence, Rivkin became a virtual recluse in his Point Piper, New South Wales mansion. He later moved to the penthouse apartment home of his elderly mother elsewhere in Sydney and was found dead there on 1 May 2005, presumably having killed himself. Rivkin is survived by his former wife Gayle and five children, Damien, Jordan, Shannon, Dion and Tara. Two of his sons continue to operate the Rivkin Group in Sydney.

Rivkin is believed to have died from an overdose of prescription pills. In a 2001 60 Minutes interview he had expressed his desire to be cremated, saying he 'didn't want his family coming to worship a piece of concrete' and so he was cremated.

[edit] Biography

  • Main, Andrew (2005) Rivkin, Unauthorised: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of an Unorthodox. HarperCollins: Sydney. ISBN 0-7322-8089-3

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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