Kerr Neilson is a successful Australian funds manager and co-founder of Platinum Asset Management.

Neilson was born in Johannesburg

Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. He started his financial management career in the investments department of Courtaulds

Courtaulds

Courtaulds was a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals.-Foundation:The Company was founded by George Courtauld and his cousin Peter Taylor in 1794 as a silk, crepe and textile business at Pebmarsh in north Essex trading as George Courtauld & Co...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. After returning to South Africa in 1973, he moved to Australia ten years later as the head of retail funds management for Bankers Trust Australia (now BT Australia). Neilson established the Platinum Asset Management fund in 1994 with initial backing from George Soros

George Soros

George Soros is a Hungarian-American business magnate, investor, philosopher, and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Soros Fund Management. Soros supports progressive-liberal causes...

. Platinum specialises in international equities and has an estimated $US16 billion in funds under management. Neilson is its managing director and portfolio manager. In May 2007, Neilson floated 20 percent of Platinum Asset Management on the Australian Stock Exchange

Australian Stock Exchange

The Australian Securities Exchange was created by the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange in July 2006. It is the primary stock exchange group in Australia....

. The 57 percent of the company's shares he retained were valued at A$2.9 billion, making him one of Australia's richest men. In early 2010, in the wake of the global financial crisis, Neilson's wealth was estimated by Forbes

Forbes

Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...

 magazine at $US2.2 billion. Most recently, Neilson's wealth is estimated by Forbes

Forbes

Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...

 magazine to be $US2.4 billion making him the 8th richest man in Australia.

Neilson is regularly likened to Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett

Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is...

 for his ability to consistently select high-performing stocks. Neilson typically avoids "fashionable stocks", instead investing in "good companies, relatively cheaply, over the long term".

In 2009, Neilson and his wife Judith opened the White Rabbit Gallery in Sydney to share with the public their extensive collection of contemporary Chinese art.