Australian radio legend Bill Caralis dies after heart attack

A reclusive Australian radio magnate has died of a heart attack at the age of 84.

Bill Caralis, founder, chairman and CEO of 2SM Super Radio Network, died on Friday at his home in Tweed Heads in northern New South Wales.

Tributes have poured in for the Australian radio legend, who has been praised for creating a ‘steamroller’.

“Although he kept himself aloof from the interest of the outside world, he was deeply involved with his stations and his people,” according to a tribute from Radio Info.

2SM is the largest privately owned radio network in New South Wales, with Mr Caralis worth approximately $200 million.

Mr. Caralis was known as the ‘hermit of radio’ because he rarely agreed to interviews or photographs.

2HD presenter Dave Cochrane held a minute’s silence on Monday following the news of his death.

“Many people are shocked and saddened by the news of Bill’s passing, including myself,” he said.

An Australian radio magnate has died of a heart attack at the age of 84 (stock image)

“Without him we wouldn’t be here.”

Social media users expressed their condolences to the radio mogul, who was known for walking around his radio station in his tracksuit.

“Bill gave so many of my colleagues a chance on the air. And most importantly, he treated my buddy Grant Goldman – Forever On Air – so well in his final years,” Walter Williams wrote.

Tony Lawson added: ‘The man created a colossus of a network. Great achievements. Sad to hear he’s gone.’

Mr Caralis was the son of a Greek immigrant whose father moved to Australia after World War II.

He was a property developer and worked in the drinks trade for a while before moving to Tweed Heads in the early 1980s and buying 2RG Griffith.

He acquired stations in Dubbo, Parkes, Mudgee, Lismore, Murwillumbah, Taree and Toowoomba, among others.

In 2000 he expanded his portfolio, purchasing 2HD and NEWFM Newcastle, before building 2SM’s headquarters in Pyrmont, Sydney in 2011.