The Daily Telegraph has spent all week counting down its ultimate list of 100 powerful figures in politics, business, sport and entertainment and today the News Corp Sydney newspaper reveals who is Sydney’s most powerful person. No surprise that it has chosen Prime Minister Scott Morrison as #1.
There is plenty of media business and creative talent in the top 20 including:
#13 Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness Furness – Actors
The ultimate Aussie acting power couple Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness have come a long way since he was the sexiest man in tights as Gaston in Beauty and The Beast in Sydney’s theatreland and she was a jobbing actor.
The couple scored much higher on the list than Nicole Kidman who we noted earlier this week was in the 80s on the list.
# 11 James Packer, Gretel and Ros – Businessman and Philanthropists
Four generations of Packers have Sydney in their DNA. And Sydney would simply not be the same without the indelible impact of Sir Frank, his son Kerry, his wife Ros and the couple’s children James and Gretel.
Sir Frank began the Packer’s media dynasty with Australian Consolidated Press and the Nine Network, Kerry extended it and James ended it, tethering the family fortune instead to what his father did for fun — gaming and casinos through the Crown empire.
#10 Talkback titans – 2GB announcers
Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones has been a kingmaker of Australian politics and set the daily news agenda for the past 18 years.
When combined with fellow 2GB broadcasters Ray Hadley and Ben Fordham, Jones and 2GB own and influence the radio audience throughout the day.
Together they smash the ratings in their respective timeslots month after month – owning a whopping 14.1% of the available audience.
It is power and reach that keeps politicians coming back for more no matter how badly they are insulted. Love them or loathe them it is hard not to listen.
#8 Michael Miller – News Corp Australia Executive Chairman Australasia
Michael Miller is Rupert Murdoch’s most powerful executive in Australia.
As executive chairman Australasia of News Corp Australia, Miller presides over more than 140 mastheads, including Sydney’s leading metropolitan The Daily Telegraph, prestige publications such as Vogue and GQ and the No. 1 online Australian news site, news.com.au.
In the chair since 2015, Miller has expanded the company’s growth operations into gaming, acquiring punters.com.au and racenet.com.au and boosted its stake in the content marketing agency and publisher Medium Rare, which produces the Qantas magazine.
The bosses of Foxtel and Sky News report to Miller and he sits on the boards of REA, Foxtel, Fox Sports, Unruly and Sky News.
#7 Denis Handlin – Sony Music Entertainment Chairman & CEO, ANZ & President, Asia
Almost 50 years after his first music gig, Handlin is now one of Australia’s most powerful and influential tastemakers as the chairman & CEO of Sony Music Entertainment for ANZ and president of the label’s Asia divisions.
Since he took the reins of the multinational label, it has changed its name five times and LP records became CDs, then digital downloads and now streams and videos.