# Maurice Alter

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

## Personal life

Maurice was born in March 1925 at Szedliszcz in eastern Poland as the son of Brachell and Joseph Alter. 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. He married Hinda "Helen" Rubinstein in 1955 and became an Australian citizen in 1956. The couple shared an interest in music and owned an expensive contemporary art collection, which included Brett Whiteley's Portrait of Beaudalaire. A highly private man, Alter was often the "shabbiest-dressed" attendee at Melbourne property auctions. His friend and one-time business partner Lloyd Williams once observed that he seemed to have worn the same suit for 15 years. His name was often shortened to "Morrie".
Maurice Alter died on the 13th April, 2018, due to unreported causes and is buried at the Melbourne Chevra Kadisha in Springvale. His property empire, consolidated as the Pacific Group, is now managed by his son, Samuel Alter.

### Net worth

Alter was one of ten individuals listed on every Financial Review Rich List since the first list was published in 1984.
| Year | Financial Review Rich List | Financial Review Rich List | Forbes Australia's 50 Richest | Forbes Australia's 50 Richest |
| Year | Rank | Net worth (A$) | Rank | Net worth (US$) |
| 2011 | | | 32 | $0.70 billion |
| 2012 | | | 30 | $0.78 billion |
| 2013 | | | 32 | $0.89 billion |
| 2014 | | | 30 | $0.96 billion |
| 2015 | | | 19 | $1.20 billion |
| 2016 | | | 24 | $1.10 billion |
| 2017 | | $1.81 billion | 20 | |
| 2018 | 26 | $2.26 billion | | |
| 2019 | 35 | $2.33 billion | 18 | $2.10 billion |
| 2020 | 34 | $2.31 billion | | |
| 2021 | 46 | $2.32 billion | | |
| 2022 | 42 | $2.60 billion | | |
| 2023 | 44 | $2.60 billion | | |
Legend :
* Description
* Has not changed from the previous year
* Has increased from the previous year
* Has decreased from the previous year

## Career

Upon arriving in Australia, Maurice 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. By 1967, he 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 development conglomerate Hanover Holdings. Hanover had interests in shopping centre construction, mining, entertainment, produce wholesaling and many different kinds of developments. The company's success in the early 1970s, which was boosted by a property boom, formed the foundation of Alter's wealth.
Hanover was dissolved by 1978 and its assets were divided amongst the three core directors. Alter kept a selection of prominent commercial sites including the Forest Hill Shopping Centre and Hanover House in Southbank. His next venture, Pacific Shopping Centres, was founded in 1979 and is active mostly in Victoria and South Australia. Among the companys first major projects were the $32 million Centrepoint Mall at Bourke Street (in partnership with Paul Fayman) and the $12 million Pran Central Shopping Centre at Chapel Street (in partnership with John Gandel). Other notable retail developments he had direct involvement with include Pacific Werribee in Hoppers Crossing (1985), Pacific Epping (1995), Wodonga Plaza (1988), Sunshine Plaza (1983) and the Myer complex at David Street, Albury.
In 1983, Alter pleaded guilty to giving secret commissions to the former secretary of the Builders Labourers Federation, Norm Gallagher. He was put on good behaviour bonds and his companies were fined. Later, in finding Gallagher guilty of accepting secret commissions, Judge Waldron of the County Court said he believed Alter and his accomplices had been dealt with too leniently. The next year, he made a strong recovery with one of his most profitable ventures. 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. Many of his shopping centres featured a Coles-Myer retail brand, often a Coles supermarket or Target, as their primary tenant. According to BRW the two biggest growth bursts in the Alter fortune came between 1986–1989 and 1992–1995 as the property market surged.