John Rubino

In 1969, John (Giovanni) Rubino, John (Giancarlo) Trettel, Sam (Santino) Castelli and Charlie (Carmelo) Bontempo were among the thousands of young migrants toiling in workshops and construction sites across Australia.

Monadelphous Group is one of Western Australia’s biggest and most successful engineering construction companies, but it wouldn’t be running today if it hadn’t been rescued by the co-founders of United Construction.

Property investment and property development have been the main commercial pursuits of John Trettel, Sam Castelli and Charlie Bontempo since they left United Group.

The year 1991 was a bad time to be in business. It was the year Australia had “the recession we had to have”, to quote the immortal words of then Prime Minister Paul Keating.

THIS year’s salary survey shows that it’s not just the chief executives at the top end of town who have mouth-watering incomes. The chairmen at the state’s largest companies also have incomes way beyond the average punter.

A DECADE ago, engineering and construction contractor Monadelphous Group just made it into a listing of the state’s 50 largest companies, with a market capitalisaton of $71 million.

Murchison explorer Fortunis Resources has made a successful debut on the Australian Securities Exchange after raising $2.8 million through an initial public offering last week.Fortunis’ stock was trading at 24 cents at 2:00PM WST, up from the issue price of 20 cents.

A Perth couple with a struggling coffee franchise has learnt a tough business lesson after they took legal action that involved property developer Finbar Group, listed engineering company Monadelphous and commercial property agent Knight Frank.

UGL has selected former UWA graduate and Clough executive Russell Waugh to lead its engineering business, which is set to become a listed company in its own right following a demerger.

Property executives were the big movers in this year’s Wealth Creators list, while the resources slowdown put the hurt on mining services directors’ fortunes.

Apartment developer Finbar Group has unveiled plans to build a three-tower residential complex in Applecross, with the project expected to fetch $350 million.

Developer Stirling Capital and construction partner Jaxon have started work on a 19-level apartment project at Canning Bridge that has set new standards for environmental management.

Perth’s largest apartment developer, Finbar Group, has applied to build a $350 million, triple-tower development at Canning Bridge, with the three-stage project to comprise up to 452 apartments.

SPECIAL REPORT: The five WA people with the largest holdings in listed companies have earned around $1.5 billion in dividends in the past five years, with Andrew Forrest and Kerry Stokes leading the way. Click through for our list of 50 directors and investors with holdings worth more than $11 billion between them.

Mineral Resources founder Chris Ellison has raised $36.9 million from the sale of some of his shares in the mining services group, adding to a string of big share sales by WA company directors who have cashed in on strong market rallies.

Our board moves wrap includes Mark Connelly, Richard Monti, Terry Wheeler, Graham Arvidson, Samantha Hogg, Peter Bradford, Matt Dusci, Rob Velletri, John Rubino, Zoran Bebic, and Peter Dempsey.