NewAustralian ex-tycoon Alan Bond, known for spectacular hero to zero story, dies at 77
Businessman - known for colourful, chequered history - succumbs to complications from heart surgery
Alan Bond, the polarising global entrepreneur who became an Australian hero by bankrolling a historic yacht race victory for the country before going to prison over the nation’s biggest corporate fraud, died on Friday. He was 77.
Bond, who had rheumatic fever as a child which weakened his heart, died in Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth of complications following open heart surgery, said his son, John Bond.
The surgery involved replacing a heart valve that had previously been replaced almost 20 years ago, and repairs to two other valves.
“He never regained consciousness after his surgery on Tuesday and has been on life support since that time,” John Bond told reporters. “To a lot of people, dad was a larger-than-life character who started with nothing and did so much. He really did experience the highs and lows of life. To us, however, he was just dad – a father who tried his best to be the best dad he could.”
The flamboyant, London-born former sign writer divided Australians. Some remember him as a national sporting hero who transformed his once-sleepy adopted home of Perth into a global business centre.
To others, he will always be an audacious corporate criminal who was only exposed when his global business empire crashed in the early 1990s.