Australian billionaires must repay JobKeeper, not pocket millions in bonuses
We’re sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
Dismiss
By Andrew Leigh
Normal text size
Advertisement
When the pandemic hit, billionaire Solomon Lew was quick to plead for government assistance. In one telephone call, he reportedly cried when asking Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to establish the JobKeeper program. Lew’s firm, Premier Investments, temporarily shut down many of its stores, including Smiggle, Dotti, Portmans and Just Jeans. The company applied for JobKeeper and ultimately received more than $40 million in taxpayer assistance.
Premier Investments CEO Mark McInnes and chairman Solomon Lew had a very profitable year.