Clive Frederick Palmer is an Australian businessman, politician, political activist, and owner
of Mineralogy. He has iron ore, nickel and coal holdings. Palmer's net worth was estimated
by Forbes magazine to be US$550 million as of January 2014; while the BRW magazine estimated
his wealth at A$1.22 billion as of June 2014. Palmer owns Mineralogy, Waratah Coal, Palmer
Industries, Queensland Nickel at Townsville, Palmer Coolum Resort on the Sunshine Coast,
Palmer Sea Reef Golf Course at Port Douglas, Palmer Colonial Golf Course at Robina, and
the Palmer Gold Coast Golf Course, also at Robina. He owned Gold Coast United FC from
2008 to 2012. In April 2012, he announced that he had signed
a memorandum of understanding with CSC Jinling Shipyard to construct a replica of RMS Titanic,
the Titanic II. The ship will be built in China and will set sail in late 2016. Palmer
also added over 100 animatronic dinosaurs to his resort in Coolum, creating a simulated
Jurassic Park. In 2013, he established the Palmer United
Party and contested the federal election. Palmer won the Queensland seat of Fairfax
in the Australian House of Representatives.
Early life Palmer was born in Melbourne on 26 March 1954,
and spent his early years in the suburb of Williamstown. His family moved to Queensland
in 1963 and Palmer was largely raised on the Gold Coast, where he attended Aquinas College
and Southport State High School, although he also attended Toowoomba Grammar School.
Palmer studied law and journalism studies at the University of Queensland from 1973
to 1975, dropping out before completing his degree.
Business career Natural resources
Palmer is the owner of Mineralogy, a company which has 160 billion tonnes of iron ore reserves
in the Pilbara Ranges, in remote Western Australia. In 2008, Palmer bought Waratah Coal.
In 2009, he bought Queensland Nickel and the Palmer Nickel and Cobalt Refinery. The following
year, the company increased production by 30%, prompting him to give $10 million worth
of Christmas bonuses to staff including 55 Mercedes-Benz B-Class cars and overseas holidays.
Soccer Palmer purchased the Gold Coast United soccer
club in 2008 to improve his profile in China. In October 2009, he made a decision to cap
attendances of Gold Coast United home games at Skilled Park stadium to 5,000, in a bid
to save money. After widespread backlash and only 2616 fans attending the next home game,
the idea was scrapped after the intervention of Football Federation Australia.
On 29 February 2012, Ben Buckley and Frank Lowy announced that his license for Gold Coast
United FC was to be revoked for constant breaches of FFA rules and regulations and sought to
pay out the contracts of the players for the remaining month of the season. Lowy has stated
that he acted in order to protect the integrity of the sport. However, Palmer stipulated that
he would contest the decisions through legal action and claimed Lowy was a dictator. Despite
a ruling ordering the removal of "Freedom of Speech" logos on their shirts, Palmer has
indicated they will remain. On 2 March 2012, Palmer lost his Supreme Court bid against
Gold Coast United's expulsion from the A-League. In 2012, after the FFA revoked his Gold Coast
United A-League license, Palmer founded Football Australia – a competing organisation for
the sport of soccer in Australia that operated without any international affiliates.
Other activities In June 2002, Palmer was appointed Adjunct
Professor of Business at Deakin University's Faculty of Business and Law, a role he held
until 2006. During that time, he delivered a series of lectures as part of Deakin's MBA
Residential Programs. In 2008 Palmer was appointed Adjunct Professor of Management at Bond University
on the Gold Coast. In December 2012, Palmer was appointed secretary
general of the World Leadership Alliance, a democracy-promoting council that includes
former US president Bill Clinton, Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Palmer
was also named president of the alliance's business chapter, the World Economic Council.
In December 2012, on Christmas Day, Palmer hosted a buffet lunch for 650 disadvantaged
people, mostly children and their families. On 4 March 2012, Palmer was named, amid controversy,
as a National Living Treasure by the New South Wales Branch of the National Trust of Australia.
Announcements Titanic II
In February 2013, at a press conference in New York, Palmer announced plans to build
a modern-day replica of the liner RMS Titanic. It is planned that Titanic II will be built
in China and will make its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 2016. Palmer hopes
to re-create the Titanic as closely as possible with its familiar outside looks and also on
the inside. According to Palmer, the Titanic II will be 883 feet long, weigh 55,800 gross
tons and will carry 2,435 passengers and 900 crew. The Titanic II will honour the memories
of those who died and survived on the Titanic, Palmer said. The Titanic was operated by the
White Star Line, and Palmer’s cruise company is called Blue Star Line. Like the original
ship, there will be no TVs aboard and probably no Internet service, he says.
Palmer Coolum Resort: Dinosaur Park After announcing the Titanic II plans, Palmer
announced his plans to build a park that features animatronic dinosaurs. He originally proposed
that it be called Jurassic Park after the film of the same name, but due to copyright
issues the proposed name was changed to "Palmer Coolum Resort: Dinosaur Park". Palmer ordered
more than 160 animatronic dinosaurs, which included an initial shipment of a 3.5 meter
tall, 20 meter long T-Rex, nicknamed "Jeff". Palmer received full council approval for
the park on 25 July 2013, and it was expected to open to the public in 2014. On 14 December
2013, the dinosaur park, now called "Palmersaurus", was opened to the public, with Terri, Bindi
and Bob Irwin as guests of honour. "Palmersaurus" garnered early controversy
when the Australian PGA Championship withdrew from the course, citing disagreements about
the location of the park. Palmer Coolum Resort has also been subject
of a story by the ABC's 7:30 in which owners of villas at the resort allege Clive Palmer
has been locking them out of their villas Politics
Palmer was instrumental in the split of the South Australian conservatives in the 1970s,
and was active in the Liberal Movement headed by former Premier of South Australia Steele
Hall. Palmer joined the Queensland division of the National Party of Australia in 1974,
having been influenced by the policies of Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Premier of Queensland
at the time. From the early 1980s onwards, he was involved in state politics, serving
as the National Party's campaign director during the 1983 state election and as media
spokesman during its 1986 election campaign, both of which were successful.
The following year, Palmer was a supporter of the "Joh for Canberra" campaign, which
unsuccessfully attempted to get Bjelke-Petersen elected as Prime Minister of Australia at
the 1987 federal election. He was elected to life membership of the party in 1992, which
he retained after the state branches of the National Party and Liberal Party merged to
form the Liberal National Party of Queensland in 2008.
In late April 2012, Palmer announced that he would contest Liberal National Party preselection
for the Division of Lilley at the 2013 federal election, which is currently held by Wayne
Swan, the former Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer. However, later that year, in July,
he announced his intention to seek preselection for a different seat, including possibly the
Division of Kennedy, held by Bob Katter of Katter's Australian Party.
Several months after announcing his intent to seek preselection, Palmer resigned his
life membership of the Liberal National Party. His membership of the party had been suspended
on 9 November, following comments on the actions of state government ministers. He was re-instated
to the party on 22 November, but resigned the same day.
On 25 April 2013, Palmer announced a "reformation" of the United Australia Party, which had been
folded into the present-day Liberal Party in 1945, to stand candidates in the 2013 federal
election, and had applied for registration in Queensland. Another political party, The
United Party, lodged a formal objection to registration of the name 'Palmer United Party'
with the Australian Electoral Commission. The AEC determined that the names ‘Uniting
Australia Party’ and ‘Palmer United Party’ were distinct and the name ‘Palmer United
Party’ was not prohibited. Member of Parliament
Palmer ran as the candidate in the Division of Fairfax for his party. In the election,
he won the first count by just 7 votes and an automatic recount was started.
Palmer accused Drew Hutton and Greenpeace of receiving funding from the CIA, due to
his involvement in the preparation of a Greenpeace strategy titled "Stopping the Australian Coal
Export Boom". His claims were dismissed by Greenpeace senior campaigner John Hepburn
as "ludicrous", who said that Greenpeace would not accept money from any government, corporation
or secret service. His claims were also rejected by the CIA.
In his maiden speech to federal parliament, Palmer implied that the government was "deaf
to the everyday struggles of all Australians" and stated that "the entrenchment of the two-party
system in this country not only threatens democracy but destroys the creativity of the
nation." Family property holdings
The Palmer family's property holdings include their six bedroom, 11 bathroom, 22 car garage
Queensland residence in the waterfront Gold Coast suburb of Sovereign Islands. News Limited
reports that property records reveal "Mr Palmer, his family and associates own a total of 11
homes in the Sovereign Islands, a gated enclave developed on reclaimed land on the banks of
the Southport Broadwater". Other known properties are homes at Broadbeach Waters on the Gold
Coast, Fig Tree Pocket in Brisbane, a large villa at the Palmer Coolum Resort and in Sofia
in Bulgaria. Other holdings include properties in Brisbane, Jandowae on the Darling Downs,
Queensland, Port Douglas in Queensland and Bora Bora, French Polynesia. In addition Anna
Palmer owns an undisclosed number of properties held in trust for their daughter.
Personal life and health Palmer was married to his first wife, Susan,
for 22 years, with the couple having two children. Susan died from cancer in 2005, and Palmer
remarried in 2007, to Anna, who had been widowed the previous year. Clive Palmer was close
friends with Anna's husband Andrew Topalov, who died from melanoma. Palmer actually walked
Anna down the aisle to her first wedding with Topalov after her parents could not make the
wedding. Twenty years his junior, after the shared tragedy and long term friendship Palmer
married Anna. The couple's first child, a daughter, was born the following year, and
a second daughter was born in December 2013. Palmer is a devout Roman Catholic, and was
a prominent member of Right to Life Australia while at university, organising anti-abortion
rallies on campus. While watching a soccer game in October 2009,
Palmer was thought to have suffered a heart attack, and was taken to hospital. However,
doctors dismissed it as merely a heart palpitation. Palmer has also suffered from sleep apnoea.
Wealth rankings
See also Mineralogy
Palmer United Party
References
External links Palmer United Party website
Memo of understanding between the Palmer and Motoring parties