Larry Kestelman

Valarie "Larry" Kestelman (born 1966) is an Australian billionaire property developer and businessman. He co-founded internet service provider Dodo in 2001, which was bought out in 2013, and has interests in various other industries via his holding company LK Group. He is also known for his involvement in Australian basketball, including as the majority owner of the National Basketball League (NBL) since 2015.

Early life Kestelman was born in 1966 in Odesa, Ukraine. His father was an electrical engineer and his mother was a gynaecologist. The family emigrated when he was 11 years old as part of a wave of Jewish immigrants leaving the Soviet Union, living for six months in Ostia, Italy, before securing Australian visas.

Kestelman arrived in Australia at the age of 12, with his father finding work as a draftsman with Holden and his mother working as a laboratory assistant at a blood bank. He grew up in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs, attending Murrumbeena High School before going on to study accounting at Victoria College in Prahran. His first job was in accounts payable department of a tyre company. In 2014 he controversially announced that the team would rebrand as Melbourne United.

In 2015, Kestelman secured a majority 51 percent stake in the National Basketball League in exchange for a A$7 million equity stake. The league was in financial distress with a number of teams close to collapse. In his first year as league owner Kestelman negotiated a new television rights deal, the revival of the Brisbane Bullets, and a revamp of the league's brand identity and digital platform. He subsequently increased his stake in the NBL to 94 percent.

Property development Kestelman began investing in property at a young age, starting with a block of land in Caulfield South. He moved from subdividing residential lots to building townhouses, later expanding to large apartment blocks in Footscray and Southbank.

Telecommunications In September 2001, Kestelman established internet service provider Dodo Services with his cousin Michael Slepoy and Russian-born Igor Gilenko. He took a 49 percent stake in the company, with Slepoy holding 28 percent and Gilenko 23 percent. The business grew rapidly with a focus on simplifying customer billing, including providing fixed-price plans and unlimited downloads. However, in 2003 Kestelman and fellow Dodo director Mark Baranov were found to have knowingly engaged in "misleading, deceptive and unconscionable conduct", following an Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) investigation into misleading advertising. The company was not fined but was ordered to compensate customers and carry out a trade practices compliance programme.

Other interests Kestelman's holding company is the LK Group. He offered to purchase 50% of the company Sociabl in 2015, but his offer was declined. As of 2017 his interests outside of property included Philippines-based call centre provider Acquire BPO, recruitment agency First Avenue, investment firm Oxygen Ventures, digital content firm Newsmodo, human resources firm Wall Street, customer loyalty provider Infinite Rewards, and software companies eCal, eTaskr and Saisei. In April 2023, Queens Lane Capital purchased bed and mattress company Snooze from Greenlit Brands.

Net worth Kestelman debuted on the BRW Young Rich List in 2005 with Dodo co-founder Igor Gilenko, with a shared net worth estimated at 87 million. , Kestelman's net worth was assessed at 1.36 billion in the 2015 Rich List.

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