Malcolm Turnbull is an Australian politician who is now serving as the country’s 29th Prime Minister. He is the leader of Australia’s Liberal Party. Turnbull, a multi-talented individual, studied Arts and Laws in college and worked in a variety of fields before entering politics and slowly working his way to the top. He has worked as a businessman and a banker in the past, amassing a fortune in the millions to become one of Australia’s wealthiest people. He was elected to the House of Representatives for Wentworth in the 2004 Federal elections and eventually became the opposition leader. Because of his popularity and respect among his supporters, he was easily appointed National Communications Minister by the Tony Abbott government. Turnbull resigned as Communications Minister in September 2015, and in a leadership election, he defeated Abbott by ten votes and was elected Prime Minister. Malcolm was awarded the Centenary Medal in January 2001 for his outstanding contributions to the corporate sector as a businessman.
Childhood and Adolescence
Malcolm Turnbull was born on October 24, 1954, in Sydney, to a hotel broker father and an actress/writer mother who divorced Malcolm’s father when he was nine years old. Malcolm’s parents’ divorce had a negative effect on him, and he developed Asthma around that time. Malcolm had to stay with his father in Australia after his mother moved to England.
Malcolm was an outstanding student in school, and his professors referred to him as one of the most ‘talented’ students they had ever met. Malcolm was an outstanding student in both English and history.
However, he was more interested in recent history and studied a lot about World Wars and the continuously altering political picture throughout the world during those years, and he decided to study art during his high school years.
Malcolm studied art at the University of Sydney before pursuing a major in political science. His first foray into politics came in college when he was elected to the board of directors of the student union. He also worked as a political reporter for periodicals such as Nation Review, where he covered the local political scene.
Malcolm began studying Civil Law at Brasenose College, Oxford, on a scholarship in 1978 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1980. He began working for ‘The Sunday Times’ during his college years and has written for journals and newspapers in the United States and Australia.
He was a role model for other pupils and a hardworking young man who was continually pushing the status quo. Anyone could tell he was bound for greatness in later life, and he did.
Beginning of a Career
Malcolm Turnbull returned to Australia in the early 1980s after finishing his studies and immediately began practicing law. His background as a journalist served him well as a lawyer, and he achieved national acclaim when he successfully defended Peter Wright in the ‘Spycatcher Trial,’ in which he was pitted against the British government.
In 1987, Turnbull took a break from practicing law and founded Whitlam Turnbull & Co. with Nicholas Whitlam, a former State Bank of South Wales chief executive.
The company was successful for both parties, but tensions between them soon arose, prompting Whitlam’s departure three years later, and the company was renamed Turnbull and Partners Ltd.
Malcolm subsequently turned his attention to other businesses, such as FTR Holdings and Star Technology Systems, where he made a lot of money and gained a lot of fame among Australians for bringing Australian tech companies to the international scene.
Turnbull made the finest business investment of his career when he bought a half-million-dollar stake in the renowned internet service provider company ‘Oz email’ in 1994 and sold it for a whopping 57 million dollars in 1999. In the same year, his company, FTR Holdings, purchased a number of internet startups.
Malcolm saw the internet revolution coming and made several wise financial decisions, including taking significant roles at WebCentral and Chaos.com.
Career in Politics
Malcolm’s first political aim was to win the Wentworth Parliamentary seat in 1981, however, he was defeated by Peter Coleman. After a couple more failed attempts, Malcolm decided to focus on his business and legal careers.
However, in 1993, Paul Keating appointed him as chairman of the Republic Advisory Committee, and Malcolm remained the chairman of the Australian Republican movement for the next seven years. Turnbull left the position in 2000 and joined the Australian National Flag Association in 2004.
Malcolm had always been a supporter of the Liberal Party of Australia and had ambitions to run for a parliament seat, which he had previously lost twice.
He wanted to run against Peter King again, but he was aware of Peter’s widespread backing, so he fought him and beat him in the 2004 elections. Malcolm spent more than half a million Australian dollars on his campaign despite the accusation of branch stacking.
At the height of the Australian economic downturn in the early 2000s, then-Prime Minister John Howard promoted Malcolm to parliament secretary, a post that allowed him to report directly to the Prime Minister. Malcolm accepted Howard’s offer of the position of Minister of Environment and Water a short time afterward.
Malcolm was appointed as the Shadow Treasurer in the government in December 2007, and his colleagues later chose him as the leader of the opposition Liberal Party in 2008, a position he accepted and held until December 2009.
Malcolm challenged Abbott for the Liberal Party’s leadership, claiming that he doesn’t grasp the concept of economic leadership and that the Liberal Party needed a leader who cared for the general public’s intelligence in order to stand tall.
Malcolm was elected leader of the Liberal Party in 2015 after defeating Abbott by 54 votes in the Liberal Leadership Election. Malcolm became Australia’s 29th Prime Minister on September 15, 2015.
He was elected Prime Minister of Canada in the 2016 federal elections.
Malcolm’s Personal Experiences
Malcolm Turnbull is married to Lucy Turnbull, a businesswoman, and politician who previously served as the mayor of Sydney. The couple married in 1980 while Malcolm was a student at Oxford University, and they currently reside in Sydney’s suburbs. Alex and Daisy are the couple’s two children, and they have two grandkids.
Despite his enormous success, Malcolm has a reputation among his peers for being overly emotional and loud. He doesn’t follow the crowd and insists on going left, even if the rest of the party wants to go right. He’s also a bit of a loner, and he’s gotten a lot of flak for publicly criticizing Abbott’s climate change strategy using aggressive language.
Estimated Net Worth
As early as July 2017, the Turnbull couple’s combined wealth was close to 200 million Australian dollars. Since September 2015, he has served as Australia’s Prime Minister.