<
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/26/always-remember-how-macquarie-built-its-millionaires-on-outrageous-tolls-and-charges>
"The recent retirement of the Macquarie Group CEO, Shemara Wikramanayake, marks
the culmination of a highly successful career. She is leaving the company with
shares worth hundreds of millions of dollars after nearly 40 years at the
Sydney-based institution. Under her leadership, the “millionaires’ factory” has
increased its annual revenue by about 80% and nearly doubled its profit.
Wikramanayake has also overseen and consolidated the group’s transition from a
firm specialising in privatised infrastructure to a global merchant bank
earning profits from commodity trading, specialist asset finance and wealth
management.
Macquarie shareholders, who have tripled their money over the past eight years
(with dividends and capital gains), have plenty of reason to be grateful.
The public, in Australia and elsewhere, may take a slightly more jaundiced
view. The foundations of the millionaires’ factory were laid through a string
of private infrastructure deals that greatly enriched Macquarie while
delivering expensive or substandard services.
The biggest disaster of all has been Thames Water, privatised by the Thatcher
government in the UK and acquired by a Macquarie-led consortium in 2006. After
extracting billions in dividends for itself and other investors, and loading
the company with debt, Macquarie sold out in 2017. By that time, the utility’s
performance was so dire as to be unsalvageable. Nearly a decade later, the UK
government is still grappling with the choice between an unpalatable
renationalisation and a hybrid model that is likely to prove unworkable."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
