Justin Hemmes

Justin Hemmes
Born	(1972-08-27) 27 August 1972 (age 53) [1] Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Education	The Scots College
Occupation	CEO of Merivale Group
Partners	Carla McKinnon ​ ​ (m. 2012;div. 2015)​ Kate Fowler ​ ​ (m. 2015;div. 2018)​
Children	3

Justin Hemmes (born 27 August 1972 ^[1] ) is an Australian businessman, heir to the House of Merivale family fortune and principal of the Merivale Group that owns approximately 100 pubs, hotels, restaurants and other venues across Australia. ^{[2] [3]}

Biography

Hemmes is the son of John Hemmes (1931–2015) ^[4] and Merivale Hemmes. ^[5] He was educated at The Scots College. ^[3]

Personal life

From 2012 to 2015, Hemmes was in a relationship with Carla McKinnon, a yoga teacher. ^{[6] [7]} From 2015 to 2018, he was in a relationship with Kate Fowler, and they had two daughters together. ^{[3] [7]}

Hemmes is in a long term relationship with Madeline Holtznagel. They have one child born in 2025. ^{[8] [9]}

In 2023, it was reported that Hemmes had purchased two Byron Bay properties at an estimated cost of A$38 million. ^[10]

Net worth

Hemmes and family debuted on the Financial Review 2018 Rich List with an estimated net worth of A$951 million. ^[11] As of May 2025 ^[update] , the Hemmes family's net worth was A$1.58  billion, according to the 2025 Rich List. ^[12]

Year	Financial Review Rich List		Forbes Australia's 50 Richest
	Rank	Net worth (A$)	Rank	Net worth (US$)
2018 [11]	78	$951 million
2019 [13]	88	$1.06  billion
2020 [14]	101	$1.00 billion
2021 [15]	97	$1.21 billion
2022	128	$1.10 billion
2023 [16]	102	$1.39 billion
2024 [17]		$1.50 billion
2025 [12]	113	$1.58 billion

Legend
Icon	Description
	Has not changed from the previous year
	Has increased from the previous year
	Has decreased from the previous year

See also

• The Hermitage, Vaucluse

References

1. Manly, Lucy (30 August 2020). "Merivale playboy Justin Hemmes puts on a model 48th birthday bash". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 21 November 2020.
2. Molloy, Shannon (14 March 2020). "From notorious Sydney playboy to billion-dollar businessman: Justin Hemmes' life of luxe". The Chronicle. Toowoomba . Retrieved 21 November 2020.
3. Hyland, Anne (4 June 2022). "Justin Hemmes on his Melbourne moves, skyscraper plans – and how he beat anxiety". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 14 August 2023.
4. Fuary-Wagner, Ingrid (29 May 2019). "New billionaire Justin Hemmes' empire of escapism". The Australian Financial Review . Retrieved 2 October 2019.
5. Spicer, David (9 February 2018). "Hemmes' son awarded $1.75m from estate of father he never met". ABC News . Australia. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
6. "How Justin Hemmes built his bar empire". Daily Telegraph. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
7. "Multimillionaire pub baron Justin Hemmes, 45, splits with partner of three years and mother of his two children Kate Fowler, 28". www.msn.com. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
8. Rutherford, Karlie (26 April 2025). "'I keep a lot of my life private': Model Madeline Holtznagel breaks silence on baby with Justin Hemmes". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) . Retrieved 5 March 2026.
9. Penny, Jessica (28 August 2025). "Justin Hemmes' partner joins life-saving charity". Australian Financial Review . Retrieved 5 March 2026.
10. Campbell, Bonnie (31 May 2023). "Bar tsar Justin Hemmes spends $38m on two Byron Bay beach fronts" . The Australian Financial Review . Retrieved 14 August 2023.
11. "2018 AFR Rich List: Justin Hemmes debuts with $951m hotel empire". The Australian Financial Review . 23 May 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
12. Redrup, Yolanda (30 May 2025). "Australia's wealthiest 200 revealed, fortunes blow past $667b" . Australian Financial Review . Retrieved 31 May 2025.
13. Bailey, Michael (30 May 2019). "Australia's 200 richest people revealed". The Australian Financial Review . Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
14. Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (30 October 2020). "The full list: Australia's wealthiest 200 revealed" . The Australian Financial Review . Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
15. Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (27 May 2021). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review . Retrieved 28 May 2021.
16. Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (26 May 2023). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review . Retrieved 6 June 2023.
17. Redrup, Yolanda; Bailey, Michael (30 May 2024). "Australia's wealthiest 200 now control $625b". Australian Financial Review . Retrieved 18 September 2024.