Ernest Archibald Maynard "Peter" Wright (24 February 1908 – 13 September 1985) was an Australian mining entrepreneur. He was best known as the business partner of

Lang Hancock Langley Frederick George "Lang" Hancock (10 June 1909 27 March 1992) was an Australian iron ore magnate from Western Australia who maintained a high profile in the spheres of business and politics. Famous initially for discovering the world's ...

. After his death, his estate became worth over 1 billion.

Early life and education

Wright was born in Kalgoorlie to parents who were originally from

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The family moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

at a young age and Wright was educated at several schools, including

Hale School Hale School is an independent, Anglican day and boarding school for boys, located in Wembley Downs, a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Named after the school founded by Bishop Mathew Blagden Hale in 1858, Hale School claims to be ...

. He left school before graduating. In 1932 he married Pauline McClemans, daughter of William McClemans, an Anglican clergyman who founded Christ Church Grammar School.

Business career

After leaving school, he joined the

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known commonly as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia, being established in Sydney in 1817 and situated on Broadway. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and N ...

. In 1930 he qualified as an accountant and set up his own accountancy firm. In 1938 he became general manager of his father's firm F. W. Wright & Co, later becoming managing director when it became Wright Ltd in 1949. During the late 1930s, Wright joined with former schoolmate

in a mining venture in the north-west of Western Australia, beginning a partnership that lasted for several decades. One of their early ventures was an asbestos mine at

Wittenoom, Western Australia Wittenoom is a declared contaminated site and former townsite north-north-east of Perth, in the Hamersley Range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The declared contaminated site comprises , making it the "largest contaminated site i ...

. In 1969 Wright and his partner Lang Hancock commenced publication in Perth of a weekly newspaper ''The Sunday Independent'' principally to help further their mining interests. Hancock largely relinquishing his interest in it in the early 70s but Wright continued publishing it until selling it to ''The Truth'' in 1984.

Death and legacy

Wright died in 1985 in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, Thailand while travelling home to Perth from Europe. He was cremated at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

. In 1985 the ''

Business Review Weekly ''BRW'' (formerly ''Business Review Weekly'') was an Australian business magazine published by the Fairfax Media group. The magazine was headquartered in Melbourne. It regularly compiled lists which rank corporations and individuals according to ...

'' (BRW) estimated his net worth at 50 million. By 2013, the magazine valued his family's net worth at 1.53

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...

. The rise in the value was largely a result of royalty agreements signed by Hancock and Wright during the 1960s. The agreements entitled Hancock and Wright 2.5 percent of revenue generated by Rio Tinto's Hamersley Iron mines.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Peter 1908 births 1985 deaths Australian mining entrepreneurs People from Kalgoorlie Australian accountants Australian newspaper founders People educated at Hale School People from Perth, Western Australia