End of a (Business) Era

Smorgon Steel has just been bought out in a friendly takeover by OneSteel (see the report in The Age here). This will mean that the last Smorgon named business will disappear from the stock market.
In reality this news doesn't interest me to any great extent but listening to David Smorgon talking about the family on ABC radio this afternoon made me think. However many billions the 4 generations of the Smorgon family are worth they still remain a major philanthropic force in Australia. Click here to hear Victor Smorgon talking about giving back to the community.

But what has always impressed me about the Smorgons is the fact that in the 1940s and 1950s they gave many holocaust survivors jobs in the family business. Many very successful Jewish families in Melbourne got their initial start in the Smorgons meat plants. To my mind this explains their being blessed with phenomenal business success. I am sure that the present and future generations of this family will continue in their good works.
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