Bill Caralis: Wife of reclusive Australian radio magnate 2SM dies just three days after multimillionaire’s death
EXCLUSIVE
The wife of a reclusive radio magnate once estimated to be worth $200 million has died just three days after his death.
Bill Caralis died on July 19 at the age of 82 at Pindara Private Hospital in Benowa on the Gold Coast in Queensland, according to an obituary published over the weekend.
His wife, Pam Caralis, co-owner of Australia’s largest private radio network, died at the age of 85 on July 22 in the same hospital, the day her husband’s death was announced.
Daily Mail Australia reports that Mr Caralis suffered a heart attack after visiting his wife, who suffered from a chronic illness.
“Bill and Pam left an indelible impression on the lives of many people,” their joint funeral notice reads.
‘Their generosity to their staff and colleagues in the radio industry will never be forgotten.
‘They were married for 60 years and inseparable in life and death.’
Mr Caralis was known for his reclusive nature, but also for building a media empire that grew into the Super Radio Network with 42 stations in NSW and Queensland.
Pam Caralis, the wife of reclusive radio magnate Bill Caralis – who was once valued at $200 million – has died, just three days after losing her husband of 60 years. Mr. and Mrs. Caralis are pictured
He rarely gave interviews and was known for not liking to have his photo taken.
Mr. Caralis made a rare exception to his obsession with privacy in March 2014 by placing an advertisement in the newspaper in honor of his golden wedding anniversary.
An accompanying black-and-white photo of the couple was described by a radio industry website as the first authenticated photo of Mr. Caralis published in 50 years.
The Super Radio Network also includes 2SM, which dominated Sydney’s commercial ratings as a music station in the 1970s and is now home to former talk show king John Laws.
Mr Caralis, whose wealth was estimated at at least $200 million in a 2005 profile in the Australian Financial Review, did not flaunt his personal fortune.
He was known for always wearing a tracksuit when he came to the office and for being reluctant to spend money on equipment, infrastructure or salaries.
A former employee who worked at 2SM when Mr Caralis lived above the Pyrmont studio in the early 2000s remembers staff bringing their own toilet paper.
Mr Caralis passed away on July 19 at the age of 82 in Benowa on Queensland’s Gold Coast. He is pictured with local Radio 97 breakfast presenter Brooke Marsden on his 80th birthday
In April 2003, Mr Caralis saved tens of thousands of dollars a year when he withdrew 2SM from Sydney’s radio ratings system, citing a lack of confidence in the accuracy of listener surveys.
The station’s last survey before that decision indicated it had only 0.6 percent of the available audience.
A radio industry veteran told Daily Mail Australia he expects Broadcast Operations Group, which operates under the name Super Radio Network, to be worth somewhere between $30 million and $70 million.
Mr Caralis was born in Greece and moved to Australia in 1945, at the end of World War II.
He left school when he was in his teens and went to work in his father’s grocery store in Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building, before moving into property development.
After building a shopping centre in Marrickville in the city’s west, Mr Caralis worked in the liquor trade for a while and founded Camperdown Cellars.
From 1979 to 1982 he was chairman of the Newtown Rugby League club, until the Jets were expelled from the First Division.
In the early 1980s, Mr Caralis moved to Tweed Heads on the New South Wales North Coast and began buying regional broadcasters, starting 2RG in Griffith in 1987.
He would add slocations in Dubbo, Parkes, Mudgee, Lismore, Murwillumbah, Taree, Tamworth, Armidale, Grafton, Orange, Gunnedah, Port Macquarie, Toowoomba and Gympie.
Mr Caralis was as famous for his reclusive nature as for creating a media empire that became the Super Radio Network of 42 stations across NSW and Queensland.
Mr Caralis bought 2SM from INXS manager Chris Murphy in 1999 for $8.25 million and expanded his network the following year with 2HD and NEWFM in Newcastle.
His death prompted praise from many of his stations.
“Mr Caralis had a close relationship with his staff and was very committed to his stations and the people who worked for him,” the Toowoomba-based 4WK station said on social media.
“His love and passion for radio was inspiring and all of us here at 4WK will miss him tremendously.”
Brooke Marsden, presenter of the Radio 97 breakfast program, which broadcasts on the Gold Coast and in the Tweed and Northern Rivers of New South Wales, also offered her condolences.
“It was an honor to know Bill Caralis, a true legend and a one-of-a-kind human being,” she wrote.
‘TThank you for everything Billy, may your big beautiful heart rest in peace.’
Radio 2VM in Moree reported: ‘We have been assured that it will be business as usual and all staff are urged to carry on in his loving memory. Rest in peace, boss.’
Mr. and Mrs. Caralis are survived by their sons John and George, daughter Despina and six grandchildren.
The couple’s funeral will be held on Friday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Clear Island Waters on the Gold Coast.
