The Smorgon Family

The Smorgon family is one of Victoria’s most prominent business dynasties. Norman (Naum) Smorgon and his then-wife Tzippa arrived in Australia in 1927 after escaping the Stalin regime, and once settled in Melbourne he established a kosher butcher shop with his brothers, Moses and Abram. Throughout the 1930s, the family traded in wholesale meat and canned foods, and then in 1942 Norman’s son Victor created Smorgon Consolidated Industries, diversifying their interests into the paper and packaging industries, before entering the steel industry with Smorgon Steel. In the 1990s, the family decided to divest many of their core businesses, selling Smorgon Steel to BlueScope (a spin-off of the $200 billion dollar company BHP) in 2007 for $700 million.

Companies under Smorgon control have faced multiple controversies regarding the exploitation of workers. In 2006, Smorgon Steel employees held a snap strike after the company removed clauses in a new enterprise agreement, which the workers feared would allow Smorgon Steel to replace their jobs with contractors. In 2017, the family was implicated in another incident in which migrant farm workers went on strike for better pay and working conditions against Perfection Fresh, a company largely controlled by the Smorgon family at the time. The workers had also reportedly been pressured to quit the National Union of Workers.

Since selling Smorgon Steel, the family has continued to grow its wealth through private equity, venture capital and off-shore funds, real estate, and other investments. The Smorgons’ extensive real estate portfolio includes luxury rural properties and property development in the United States. The Victor Smorgon Group is a fund manager and manages investments ranging from gold and energy to tourism. The Smorgons also own Sandbar Investments and back non-bank lenders such as Arrowpoint Capital, which the Smorgons describe as a “leading alternative debt provider”. Non-bank lenders are known for predatory lending practices and are subject to less stringent regulations than traditional banks.

The Smorgons have made significant political donations for many years. Peter Edwards, the grandson of Victor Smorgon and Executive Chair of the Victor Smorgon Group, donated $100,000 to the Australian Liberal Party in the lead up to Tony Abbott’s Federal Election victory in 2013.

The family is also known for its philanthropic activities, particularly in Melbourne’s arts and healthcare sectors, and has previously leveraged its philanthropy to exert influence over the institutions it supports. In 2016, for instance, Graham Smorgon demanded naming rights to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, to which he had donated $1.5 million, threatening the centre with legal action if his demands were not met.

The Smorgons are supporters of Israel, with members of the family having received awards from the Israeli government for their dedication to the state. They are also benefactors of Zionist organisations such as the United Israel Appeal.

The family has supported institutions such as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Ballet, and the National Gallery of Victoria. The Arts Centre Melbourne features the Smorgon Family Plaza.