Hanging Ten

February 14, 2020

Glen Norris | Courier Mail

Real estate tycoon Warren Ebert has come a long way since his taxi driving days. Ebert held court at a private dinner at the Brisbane Club on Wednesday to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his Sentinel Property Group.

From a single property, Sentinel now controls a portfolio of more than 50 retail, industrial, office, land, tourism infrastructure and agribusiness assets with a total value in excess of $1.2 billion. Ebert revealed at the dinner it was only fate that got him his first job in the real estate industry.

Picking up a passenger one night from Expo 88, Ebert gleaned the bloke worked in the property industry and managed to get his business card. The next day he rang the passenger and was soon offered a job.

The rest as they say is history. Ebert’s investment strategy is simple – don’t follow the crowd. “To make money, you have to do unpopular things,” Ebert told the dinner. “We buy s– because there is money in s–. We don’t have a business plan because then you have to have a start and a finish.”

While he now has enough money to buy up all the caviar and champagne in the city, Ebert revealed his tastes remain very humble and he enjoys nothing more than chowing down on some good corned beef.

Guard Duty

Still on Sentinel and kudos to Cam Scott, one of the group’s in-house lawyers, who welcomed guests to the 10th anniversary celebrations dressed as, you guessed it, a Roman Sentinel. Even the air-conditioned atmosphere of the Brisbane Club could not counter being encased in leather and metal in what was a humid and sticky Brisbane night. Thankfully Scott was able to change back into his civvies when everyone sat down for dinner.