Gordon Merchant Net Worth
Gordon Merchant Net Worth: Gordon Merchant is an Australian businessman with a net worth of $570 million. He has made a fortune as the founder and majority shareholder of Billabong International, a global surf apparel company. Born in Western Australia on January 28, 1950, he grew up to be an avid surfer and later turned his love of the sport into profit.
Despite his creativity, Merchant was the man behind the first leg rope that kept surfers from losing their boards. Next, he got his big break when he modeled a surfboard that was hidden on the edge. In addition, he used his surfing experience, mainly in Maroubra, to develop a special ability to read weather maps to catch good surfing waves. In 1973, Gordon teamed up with Rena Merchant to produce board shorts. So they founded Billabong International Limited, a clothing company specializing in surf clothing products. Merchant has been the brains behind the company’s design, marketing and sponsorship since its inception. Focusing on surf clothing, Billabong became an international brand and gained global popularity in the 1980s. The brand’s popularity has also been boosted by the promotion of professional surfers such as Joe Engel, Luke Egan, Monga Barry, Ronnie Burns and others. By the 1990s, Billabong was considered Australia’s number one surf clothing company and was solidified in the international market. Gordon has been a non-executive director of Billabong since July 4, 2000, and Merchant has also been a non-executive director of Plantic Technologies Ltd., a bioplastics company, since March 31, 2005. Merchant was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in 2010 for his overall contribution to manufacturing.
