Paul Little

Paul Alexander Little is an Australian businessman and philanthropist. Little served as the managing director of Toll Holdings, an Australasian integrated logistics provider from 1985 until 2011 and retired from that position after 26 years service.

Career Little has been in the transport industry for nearly all his business life, first as an employee at Mayne Nickless, where he progressed to become national operations manager of the Seapak Transport Services division, and then at Peko-Wallsend as a consultant where he assessed the desirability of purchasing the Toll business and then led the takeover which went on to become a prominent Australian transport services provider.

Little and his team developed Toll from an 18-truck operation worth $1.5 million, into a $3.8 billion international organisation with 45,000 employees and operations in 50 countries. Little subsequently further developed his ability to acquire new businesses, buying many between 1989 and 2000. He then began taking over two companies a year until 1997, when Toll paid $145 million for eight TNT businesses. In 2000, it paid $120 million for rival Finemore Holdings.

Little also oversaw Toll's investments in technology, wine, rail freight and cargo shipping.

Other business interests Little also owns an aviation charter business, Little Aviation, which, as of 2013, owned an 65 million Gulfstream G650ER jet. Little Aviation employs three pilots.

On 29 July 2013, Little became the chairman of the Essendon Football Club in the AFL, replacing David Evans. He served in the role for almost two and a half years, presiding over a turbulent time in the club's history as it faced allegations of running a program of illegal supplements during David Evans' tenure. Little stepped down on 14 December 2015, shortly before the final guilty verdict was returned in the supplements investigation, and was replaced by Lindsay Tanner.

Awards and honours Winner of the CA/Zurich Business Leader Award in 2002 Winner of the inaugural Trans-Tasman Business Leader Award in 2005 Awarded a Doctor of Business honoris causa by RMIT University in 2008 Appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2010 for service to the development of the transport and logistics industries through strategic leadership and promotion of corporate social and environmental responsibility, and to the community through philanthropic support of sporting and medical research organisations.

Little is also a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (FCILT).

Personal life Little is married to former investment banker, Jane Hansen, his second wife. In 2002, they paid a then record price for a Melbourne home when they bought the Toorak mansion Coonac for nearly 15 million. Little's first wife, Shirley, died of cancer in 1992. Little has three children.

Little and Hansen's philanthropic interests are directed towards education, theatre, and addiction rehabilitation. In 2015 Little and Hansen established The Hansen Trust via an 10 million gift from the Hansen Little Foundation to the University of Melbourne to further the teaching of history studies. In 2018 the Hansen Little Foundation gifted a further 30 million to the university.

Net worth Year Financial Review Rich List ForbesAustralia's 50 Richest Rank Net worth (AUD) Rank 2013 $0.82 billion 2016 $0.83 billion 2017 $0.927 billion 2018 $1.54 billion 2019 $1.77 billion $0.95 billion 2020 $1.67 billion 2021 $1.71 billion 2022 $1.80 billion 2023 $1.83 billion 2024 $2.25 billion 2025 $2.34 billion

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