Sir Paul Strasser

Sir Paul Strasser (died in 1989) was one of Sydney's best-known property developers.

David Hickie notes that Don Chipp said that in July 1978 that the NSW government "found that a building owned by the Public Transport Authority had been illegally sublet by Sir Paul Glasser and another developer to two companies owned by [Abe] Saffron, and that the building now housed a gambling club, a brothel and a sex shop."

Strasser "was considered the father of modern property development in Australia.

"At the height of his corporate career in the early 1970s, Sir Paul headed a 70-company empire which stretched into property, cattle stations, oil and mineral exploration, abattoirs, textiles, printing, and merchant banking.

"The linchpin of the empire was Parkes Developments Pty Ltd - established by Strasser in 1956 - which built and owned city skyscrapers, 1,000 homes, 5,000 units, and sold 15,000 blocks of land.

"Parkes Developments crashed in March 1977 - following the collapse of the property market and rises in interest rates - with debts of more than $66 million. Sir Paul's private wealth shrank from an estimated $5 million to $10 million to $100,000. However he maintained his interest in property development, serving on Mirvac Group's management committee for the past eight years.

"He was a member of more than a dozen charity boards, most of them concerning children. In 1973, he was knighted for services to charity and the building industry.

"He is survived by his wife, Lady Vera Strasser and step-son Peter."

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 * Michael Hand
 * Alexander Barton
 * Sir Ivan Charody
 * Abe Saffron