Greg Coffey

Greg Coffey
Born (1971-04-25) 25 April 1971 (age 53)
Sydney, Australia
Alma materMacquarie University
OccupationHedge fund manager
SpouseAnia Brzezinski

Greg Coffey is an Australian hedge fund manager based in London. Nicknamed "The Wizard of Oz" during his time at GLG Partners and Moore Capital Management, in 2012 he declared retirement at the age of 41 and returned to Sydney.[1] In early 2018, Coffey's plans to launch a new fund were announced.[2]

Early life and education

Coffey attended St. Patrick's College, Strathfield, matriculating in 1988.

Coffey graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University in 1995.[3]

Career

Coffey joined Macquarie Bank in 1993 and in 1994 traded emerging-market equity derivatives at Bankers Trust and Deutsche Bank AG.[4] Coffey was hired by Blueborder Partners, a George Soros related hedge fund and was then hired by Bank Austria to oversee global equity proprietary trading.

Coffey was then a trader at GLG Partners (GLG), and is estimated to have earned £170 million in 2007 after increasing by 51% the value of his emerging markets fund.[5] In April 2008 he announced his departure from GLG, effective in October, and leaving behind his A$200 million GLG Partners compensation package. Industry sources estimated that Coffey had been responsible for two-thirds of GLG's performance fees during his time there.[6][7] In November 2008 became co-chief investment officer of Moore Europe Capital Management, a subsidiary of Moore Capital Management.[8][9][10][11] In October 2012, at the age of 41, he announced his retirement.[12][13]

In December 2017, it was rumoured that Coffey would launch a new hedge fund.[14] In February 2018, Kirkoswald Capital Partners[15] was reported to have commitments from investors of A$3.5 billion. The size of the new fund would be capped at A$2 billion and offices will be headquartered in London.[2]

Personal life

Coffey is married to Ania Brzezinski, and they reside in the Sydney suburb of Balmoral. They also own a ski chalet in Switzerland, a house in London's Chelsea,[16] and, in 2022, acquired a 18-hectare (45-acre) estate in Southampton, New York for US$105 million;[17] previously owned by Anne McDonnell, the first wife of Henry Ford II.[18]

In November 2010, Coffey bought Ardfin Estate, a 4,900-hectare (12,000-acre) sporting estate on the island of Jura in Scotland.[19] The purchase attracted controversy and concern over Coffey's decision to close the estate's public gardens, whose 2,500 visitors a year formed a significant source of income for Jura.[20] In 2011, a spokesperson for Coffey said that his "full intention" was to re-open the gardens during 2012, but the gardens have remained closed.[21] Coffey constructed an 18-hole private golf course on the estate. The work was completed in 2018 and the course opened in spring 2019.[22][23]

Net worth

In 2013, Coffey was listed on the Sunday Times Rich List with an assessed net worth of £260 million.[24] As of May 2023, the Financial Review assessed Coffey's net worth as A$989 million on the 2023 Rich List.[25]

Year Financial Review
Rich List 		Forbes
Australia's 50 Richest
Rank Net worth (A$) Rank Net worth (US$)
2008[26][note a] $300 million
2009
2010[27] $335 million
2011
2012[28][note a] $665 million Increase
2013[24]
2014
2015
2016
2017[29][30] $482 million
2018[31] 177 Increase $486 million Increase
2019[32] 192 Decrease $491 million Increase
2020[33] 164 Increase $655 million Increase
2021[34] 170 Decrease $668 million Increase
2022 154 Increase $862 million Increase
2023[25] 144 Increase $989 million Increase
Legend
Icon Description
Steady Has not changed from the previous year
Increase Has increased from the previous year
Decrease Has decreased from the previous year

Notes

  • ^a : Net worth drawn from the BRW Young Rich List

References

  1. ^ "The $665 million man: 41-year-old 'Wizard of Oz' returning to Sydney with a fortune". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b Johnson, Miles; Thompson, Jennifer (5 February 2018). "'Wizard of Oz' plans return with $2bn hedge fund". Financial Times. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Macquarie University Alumni Web Community - Business". Macquarie University. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  4. ^ Walsh, Kate (27 April 2008). "Greg Coffey wizard of Oz". The Times. London.
  5. ^ Bowers, Simon (3 October 2008). "Andrew Baker: Soft seller defends the 'spivs and speculators'". The Guardian. London.
  6. ^ Molony, James (22 April 2008). "Greg Coffey to step down from UK hedge fund GLG Partners in October". Forbes.[dead link‍]
  7. ^ Sibun, Jonathan (6 August 2008). "GLG Partners posts 64pc less as star Greg Coffey eyes London". The Telegraph.
  8. ^ "Star hedge fund manager Coffey joins Moore Capital". Reuters. 3 November 2008.
  9. ^ "A Bright Spot in Tough Times". The New York Times. 4 November 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  10. ^ "Coffey hedges to join Bacon". Financial Times.
  11. ^ "Greg Coffey hires spin doctors to handle PR".
  12. ^ "Trading places: walking away from the game". Evening Standard. 23 October 2012.
  13. ^ "Youngest billionaire Nathan Tinkler leads the charge on the BRW rich list". Business Review Weekly. Sydney, Australia. 22 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  14. ^ Levy, Rachel; Turner, Matt (5 February 2018). "Greg Coffey, a hedge fund star who retired at 41, is eyeing a comeback". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  15. ^ "GREGORY JOHN COFFEY owns 75% or more and is the SOLE MEMBER/CIO of KIRKOSWALD ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC". investingreview.org. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  16. ^ Sexton, Jennifer (30 November 2013). "Greg Coffey's $8m mansion plans cause a stir with Mosman neighbours". The Sunday Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 13 August 2023 – via adelaidenow.com.au.
  17. ^ Clarke, Katherine (14 March 2022). "Hedge-Fund Manager Greg Coffey Is the Buyer of a $105 Million Hamptons Estate". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Hedge funder revealed as buyer of $105M Ford estate". The Real Deal. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  19. ^ Wilson, Peter (16 April 2011). "Aussie stars shine in funds revival". The Australian.
  20. ^ Cowing, Emma (15 May 2011). "Everything in Jura's garden far from rosy". The Scotsman. Edinburgh.
  21. ^ "Will Jura now see more of the Wizard of Oz?". For Argyll. October 2012. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. [dead link‍]
  22. ^ "Spring unveiling planned for world-class golf course on Jura". The Scotsman. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  23. ^ "Ardfin". Top 100 Golf Courses. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  24. ^ a b Daniels, Vic (19 April 2013). "SUNDAY TIMES RICHEST 25 BRITISH HEDGE FUND MANAGERS". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  25. ^ a b Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (26 May 2023). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  26. ^ Carswell, Andrew (2 November 2020). "BRW Young Rich list: Nathan Tinkler, Hilton Nathanson, Greg Coffey". Daily Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  27. ^ Mayne, Stephen (2 November 2020). "The Mayne Report Rich List". The Mayne Report. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  28. ^ "The $665 million man: 41-year-old 'Wizard of Oz' returning to Sydney with a fortune". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  29. ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2017). "Financial Review Rich List 2017". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  30. ^ Mayne, Stephen (26 May 2017). "Mayne's take: The top 25 Australian billionaires, as claimed by Fairfax". Crikey. Private Media. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  31. ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2018). "2018 AFR Rich List: Who are Australia's richest people?". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  32. ^ Bailey, Michael (30 May 2019). "Australia's 200 richest people revealed". The Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  33. ^ Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (30 October 2020). "The full list: Australia's wealthiest 200 revealed". The Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  34. ^ Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (27 May 2021). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 28 May 2021.