Chris Christofi

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Chris Christofi
Chris Christofi portrait new.jpg
Christofi in 2025
Born (1979-10-23) October 23, 1979 (age 46)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
OccupationsEntrepreneur
Property investor
Author
Philanthropist
Podcast host
Years active2005–present
Known forRelentless: Life on Your Terms
Children4
Website chrischristofi.com.au

Chris Christofi is an Australian entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist of Greek-Cypriot descent. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Reventon, an Australian financial services company established in 2005. [1] Under his leadership, Reventon has expanded its operations in the property and investment sectors, reporting more than 10,000 clients and over 3,500 property sales.

Contents

He is the author of Your Path to Wealth: Brick by Brick and the host of the podcast Relentless: Life on Your Terms, which has released seven seasons and more than 100 episodes. He is an active supporter of the St Vincent de Paul Society’s CEO Sleepout and is credited with raising over $1,218,883 for homelessness-related causes. [2] He also founded the charity initiatives Lead with Kindness and the Brick by Brick project, which raise funds for the St Vincent de Paul Society. [3]

Biography

Christofi was born in Melbourne, Australia, to Peter and Andigoni (Annette) Christofi, who are both Greek Cypriots. He is the youngest of 4 children, with elder siblings Pat, Zen & Artemis.

In 1989, he, along with his family, moved back to Cyprus when he was 9 years old. At the age of 10, he started selling lottery tickets on the streets of Cyprus and working 10-hour shifts at his father's supermarket on the weekends and school holidays. [4] [5] [6] As a child, he was an avid skateboarder, following in the footsteps of his brother Zen, who skateboarded at a very high level. he also loved playing table tennis. He enjoyed kickboxing and participated in 7 fights with a fight record of 4 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses. He was trained by his oldest brother Pat, who is also a decorated kickboxer, winning multiple fights, including two Australian titles. [7]

Around the age of 13, he fell in love with cue sports, particularly pool and snooker. [8] In 1996 at the age of 16, he returned to Melbourne and started playing snooker at Brunswick Club and later represented Victoria nationally on 5 separate occasions in the under 18’s and under 21’s, where he achieved his personal best break of 136.

Career

At the age of 19, Christofi began working for a property market development company and later bought his first property with the help of his parents. Later, he formed a business partnership in Queensland and was working on expanding it. By the age of 24, he owned twenty-four investment properties. Somehow, the business collapsed and left him in a massive debt of $780,000. [4] After the debacle, he sold all of his properties and moved back to his parents' home. At the same time, his eldest son became deaf after a long battle with meningitis, and he split with his partner.

In 2005, he was under a debt of $348,000. [9] At this stage, he started a new company, Reventon, and opened its first office in the lounge room of his parents' home. [6] [9] Due to his efforts and hard work, Reventon later became a leading investment and financial services company and currently manages more than $1 billion in real estate transactions. he and Reventon have since won many awards and featured in multiple publications. [4]

In September 2019, he started a new podcast named RELENTLESS: Life On Your Terms. He also published his best-selling book, Your Path To Wealth: Brick By Brick in 2019. [6] In the year, he was appointed as one of the top 100 young entrepreneurs in Australia and won the Melbourne Young Entrepreneur Awards 2019 in the category Finance. [10]

Contribution to cue sports

Christofi has been a major contributor to the sport of snooker and billiards as a player, administrator, and sponsor. [8]

He started playing snooker at the age of 14 when he lived in Cyprus. He returned to Australia when he was 16 and started playing for Brunswick where he was promoted to A grade. [8] Later, he competed in the Australian U18 and U21 national tournaments, representing Victoria alongside his friends Neil Robertson and James Mifsud. [8] He has won snooker events, including Vic Minors and has played in the quarter-finals of open snooker events. [8]

In 2010, at a time when the sport was declining, he started sponsoring the Australian Billiards and Snooker Council (ABSC) and also saw the creation of its own ranking system, named the Reventon Ranking system. [11] He has contributed over 1 million dollars towards the sport over 10 years. Due to his continued support and financial contributions to the Yarraville Billiards and Snooker Club (YBSC) and Victoria Billiards and Snooker Association (VBSA) [8]

In 2016, the ABSC honoured him with the creation of the Reventon Triple Crown, a series of tournaments which combine Reventon Masters, the Reventon Classic and the Reventon International, and are the highest prized tournaments held in Melbourne, Australia. [12] [11]

In 2020, the Reventon Triple Crown received international coverage with 278 entries and a disclosed $135,700 AUD in prize payouts. Part of the funds raised for the tournament were donated to the White Ribbon Foundation. In the same year, the ABSC President, Frank Dewens, awarded him for his recognition of his outstanding contribution to the sport.

Philanthropy

Christofi has sponsored charitable initiatives such as White Ribbon Australia, Expression Australia, World Vision. [13] He is a major contributor to Vinnies' "CEO Sleepout", a charity which raises awareness regarding homelessness. [14]

Vinnies CEO Sleepout

In June 2018, he set a target to raise $40,000. He raised $40,185 [15] for Vinnies CEO Sleepout, to which he contributed $10,000. [16]

In 2019, he was appointed as an ambassador for Vinnies and raised a total of $60,564, with him donating 50 cents to every dollar raised, donating approximately $20,000. [17]

In 2020, the CEO Sleepout was virtual due to COVID, so he slept on the streets of Melbourne for two consecutive nights in June along with his then-wife. [18]

In the same year, the 'Brick by Brick' fundraising project was created. [19] He purchased a vacant block of land in Mt. Duneed in order to build a home, and planned to sell the property in order to support people experiencing homelessness and poverty in Australia.

In 2021, he was appointed the face of the CEO Sleepout campaign and took part in his 4th Sleepout and sleeping on the street once again for one night, further strengthing his long-term commitment to the origanisation. He was the 2nd highest fundraiser in Victoria out of 206 CEO's, and 4th-highest fundraiser out of 1,613 CEO's nationwide. He exceeded his target of $100,000, raising $113,173 for Vinnies.

In 2022, he completed his 5th Vinnies CEO Sleep Out, once again being awarded the 2nd highest fundraiser in Victoria and exceeding his target of $250,000, raising a total of $263,096. It was this year that he was named the first CEO to raise over $250,000 in one campaign. [20]

In 2023, he completed his 6th CEO Sleepout, raising a total of $122,240. This year actually featured the highest number of donations from other parties. He was awarded the Highest Fundraiser Award (VIC), and joined John Piccolo again as Vinnies ambassador. [21]

In 2024, he completed his 7th Vinnies CEO Sleepout with a goal to raise $120,000. [22] He was named the Highest Fundraiser Award (VIC) once again, raising a total of $137,447 and hitting his target for the 7th year in a row.

In June 2025, during his 8th participation in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout, he raised A$400,000, the highest individual contribution in that year’s event, and also the highest in a single campaign. He was recognised as the top national fundraiser among 1,511 participants and as the all-time highest national fundraiser for the CEO Sleepout. Since 2018, he has raised an estimated total of more than $1,218,883 million for the St Vincent de Paul Society. [2]

Lead With Kindness

In 2021, he hosted his first Lead With Kindness event. COVID lockdowns meant that three days out from the event, he had to pivot to hosting it online. Despite this, he still raised $20,000 from the event.

The following years were even more successful. In 2022, he hosted the first in-person Lead With Kindness charity auction at Melbourne restaurant Marameo, where he raised over $54,000 just in auction items alone. [23]

In 2023, the event moved to the larger event space of Le Ciel events in Cremorne, where it raised over $100,000 with over 200 people attending. [24]

2024’s event was once again held at Le Ciel events in Cremorne. With over 170 attendees, he raised just under $80,000 [25]

In May 2025, he hosted the 5th and final Lead with Kindness Black Tie Soiree, attended by 324 guests and raising A$203,665, of which A$71,089 was donated to the St Vincent de Paul Society. [26] [27] Over five years, the Lead with Kindness events collectively raised approximately A$600,000 for charitable causes. [28]

Brick by Brick Charity Home

In 2018, he initiated the Brick-by-Brick fundraising project in partnership with the St Vincent de Paul Society (SVDP). The initiative involved purchasing land, constructing a home, and donating all proceeds from the final sale to support SVDP’s homelessness services across Australia. [3] The block of land was purchased in 2018 for $229,000. Construction of the Brick by Brick home was completed in April 2024. Hermitage Homes developer delivered the build at a cost of $432,098, bringing the total project cost to $661,098. [3] [29]

In April 2025, he donated a completed home to the organisation through the Brick by Brick fundraising project. The property, sold at A$840,000, generated a profit of A$251,902, which was donated to the St Vincent de Paul Society. [3]

Awards and recognition

Christofi has received several awards and recognitions during his career. He was named Business News Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Financial Services in 2018 [4] and 2019 [30] and was included in Australia’s Top 100 Entrepreneurs list in both years. [31] [32] Throughout his career, he has received more than 60 business and community awards, including eight in 2024.

In 2025, he was named Australian Business Person of the Year at the CUB Awards [33] and was recognised by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) for community service. He has also been acknowledged by the St Vincent de Paul Society as the all-time highest national fundraiser for the Vinnies CEO Sleepout. [34] Under his leadership, Reventon has been certified as a Great Place To Work for two consecutive years 2024–2025 and 2025–2026 with a 96% rating in the most recent year.

Published works

Christofi is the author of Your Path to Wealth: Brick by Brick (2019), which was also released as an audiobook. He is the creator and host of Relentless: Life on Your Terms, a podcast that focuses on topics related to personal development, resilience, and entrepreneurship. As of 2025, the podcast has completed seven seasons and features interviews with business professionals, athletes, and other guests discussing approaches to success and well-being.

Media Appearances

Christofi has been profiled in national and international media, appearing in business and property publications, podcasts, and broadcast outlets. His work has been featured in more than 150 media sources, including featuring twice in CUB (episode 61 & 263), [35] [36] Inspire Cyprus, [37] Inspirepreneur Magazine, [38] and GOLD Magazine [39] . He has participated in industry podcasts and interviews discussing property investment, philanthropy, and entrepreneurship, where he has spoken about his work with Reventon and his fundraising efforts for the St Vincent de Paul Society.

Personal life

Christofi became a father to Alec on January 23 of 2003, with then fiancée Melanie.

He later married Billie in February 2011, and had three children together: Gisele, Penelope, and Mila. They would later separate in September 2022 and divorce in December 2023.

See also

References

  1. "Property investor counts costs of buying off the plan as value slumps by 29pc". Australian Financial Review. 13 September 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Chris Christofi". CEO SLEEPOUT. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Manjula (18 July 2025). "Chris Christofi: Building Wealth Brick by Brick". Inspirepreneur Magazine. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Chris Christofi: From Cyprus scratchies to property empire". www.realestate.com.au.
  5. "Chris' Story - Chris Christofi". 8 July 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 "From Cyprus to Geelong: the property investor with plans to battle Australian poverty, brick by brick". Surf Coast Times. 4 November 2020.
  7. "Pat Christofi Kickboxing". nicklundh.com.au.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Reventon's Chris Christofi talks with the V.B.S.A" (PDF). snooker.org.au. July 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 January 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Timeline - Chris Christofi". 8 July 2020.
  10. "Australia's Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs 2019". businessnewsaustralia.com. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  11. 1 2 "Snooker In Australia". World Snooker. 18 March 2021. Archived from the original on 18 March 2021.
  12. "Sourav Kothari bags Reventon Classic snooker meet | More sports News - Times of India". The Times of India. 10 June 2019.
  13. "Conscious Business". reventon.com.au. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  14. Καμπυλη, Μαρια Α (14 June 2019). ""Μια νύχτα δεν είναι αρκετή, αλλά μπορεί να κάνει τη διαφορά"". ΝΕΟΣ ΚΟΣΜΟΣ.
  15. "Chris Christofi Achieves CEO Sleepout Target".
  16. "2018-2018 Philanthropy Report" (PDF). Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Australia.
  17. "CEO Chris Christofi Sleeps With The Homeless".
  18. "Homelessness 'could happen to anybody'". 18 June 2020 via www.themercury.com.au.
  19. "Chris Christofi "I'm Building A House To Donate".
  20. "Chris Christofi raises record breaking $250,000 for homelessness". neoskosmos.com. 25 June 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  21. Reventon's founder and CEO Chris Christofi takes part in his 6th Vinnies CEO Sleepout on YouTube
  22. "Chris Christofi aims to raise $120,000 to help the homeless". stockhead.com.au. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  23. Lead With Kindness 2022 - Creative Cubes Podcast on YouTube
  24. Lead With Kindness 2023 Official Video on YouTube
  25. Lead With Kindness 2024 Official Video on YouTube
  26. Georgiou, Michael (15 May 2025). "Chris Christofi to raise even more funds in final 'Lead With Kindness' gala". NEOS KOSMOS. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  27. Herald, The Greek (6 June 2025). "Chris Christofi's annual gala raises over $200,000 to support homeless Australians". The Greek Herald. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  28. ReventonAU (30 October 2019). "Chris Christofi wins Young Entrepreneur Award for second year running". Reventon. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  29. Webster, Dean (4 November 2020). "From Cyprus to Geelong: the property investor with plans to battle Australian poverty, brick by brick". Surf Coast Times. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  30. Καμπυλη, Μαρια Α (9 October 2019). "Ο ομογενής επιχειρηματίας Chris Christofi στους φιναλίστ του βραβείου Νέος Επιχειρηματίας της Χρονιάς". ΝΕΟΣ ΚΟΣΜΟΣ.
  31. "Australia's top 100 young entrepreneurs 2018".
  32. "Australia's Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs 2019: 61-70".
  33. "CUB Awards 2025 | CUB | Club of United Business" . Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  34. "2025 Vinnies CEO Sleepout | Vinnies". www.vinnies.org.au. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  35. "#61 Chris Christofi - The Mindset that Makes You Unstoppable | CUB | Club of United Business". 12 April 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  36. "#263 Chris Christofi - Building Wealth Brick by Brick | CUB | Club of United Business". 18 August 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  37. "Chris Christofi". INSPIRE 2025: ENTREPRENEURIAL FESTIVAL. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  38. "Building Wealth Brick by Brick: Lessons from Chris Christofi". Inspirepreneur Magazine. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  39. "Chris Christofi on how he turned a Melbourne home-office into a powerhouse company selling over $1b worth of real estate". www.cbn.com.cy. Retrieved 27 November 2025.