The empires, the outliers,
and the spectacular flame-outs.
Defamer tells the stories behind Australia’s businesses and the people who built — and broke — them. The rises, the falls, the fortunes and the reckonings.
Independent, and drawn from the public record — court findings, inquiries and the reporting of the day. See our editorial standards.
Where to start
Two engines: the drama — collapses, tycoons, scandals — and the admiration — the brands and the outliers.
- Rise & FallGreat Australian collapses
Ansett, One.Tel, HIH, ABC Learning — how the giants overreached and fell, and who paid for it.
- The PlayersTycoons & dynasties
Bond, Skase, Packer, Rinehart — the empire-builders, the family wars and the outsized personalities.
- HeritageIconic brand histories
Vegemite, Qantas, Holden, R.M. Williams — how the household names were built, sold and saved.
- The ExceptionalOutliers & global empires
Atlassian, Canva, Cochlear, Brambles — the Australian companies quietly conquering the world.
- On the RecordScandals & reckonings
Cartels, frauds and Royal Commissions — covered strictly from the public record.
- The ArchiveEvery story
Browse the full Defamer archive of Australian business stories, as they’re published.
Latest stories
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Breville: how a sandwich press became a global premium-kitchen nameBreville went from a Sydney workshop and the Toastie to a premium global kitchen appliance brand. Priya Naidu checks the numbers behind the story.By Priya Naidu
Sonic Healthcare: the pathology giant most Australians have never heard ofSonic Healthcare runs labs across three continents and processes hundreds of millions of tests a year, yet it barely registers in the public imagination. Here's how it got so big.By Priya Naidu
Ramsay Health Care: how one Paw Paw Ointment fortune built a hospital empirePaul Ramsay turned a single Sydney psychiatric clinic into one of the world's largest private hospital operators. The Ramsay Health Care numbers explain why.By Priya Naidu
Altium: the Sydney PCB software maker that became a global standardAltium spent three decades turning circuit-board design software into a near-monopoly before Renesas paid up. Here's how, in numbers.By Priya Naidu
Carsales.com: the classifieds site that quietly went globalHow a Melbourne car classifieds business became a multinational marketplace operator, and why the ASX still seems to underrate it.By Priya Naidu
REA Group: how a News Corp side project became a property monopolyREA Group turned a modest listings site into one of the world's most profitable property portals. Priya Naidu digs into the numbers behind the dominance.By Priya Naidu