EXCLUSIVE
The wife of a reclusive radio mogul whose fortune was estimated at $200 million has died just three days after his death.
Bill Caralis died aged 82 on July 19 in Benowa on the Gold Coast, Queensland, according to a funeral notice posted over the weekend.
His wife, Pam Caralis, co-owner of Australia’s largest private radio station, died on July 22, the day her husband’s death was announced.
Daily Mail Australia understands Mr Caralis suffered a heart attack shortly after visiting his wife, who was suffering a long-term illness in hospital.
“Bill and Pam left an indelible mark on the lives of many people,” their joint memorial service read.
‘His generosity towards his staff and colleagues in the radio industry will never be forgotten.
‘They were together for 60 years of marriage, inseparable in life and in death.’
Mr Caralis was famous both for his solitary nature and for creating a media empire that became the Super Radio Network of 42 stations in New South Wales and Queensland.
Pam Caralis, the wife of radio mogul Bill Caralis, who once had an estimated fortune of $200 million, died just three days after losing her husband of 60 years. Mr. and Mrs. Caralis are pictured
He rarely gave interviews and was notoriously reluctant to be photographed.
Mr. Caralis made a rare exception to his obsession with privacy in March 2014, by placing a newspaper advertisement to celebrate his golden wedding anniversary.
A black-and-white photograph of the couple accompanying the document was described by a radio industry website as the first verified image of Mr. Caralis to be published in 50 years.
The Super Radio Network includes 2SM, which dominated Sydney’s commercial ratings in the 1970s as a music station and now employs former talkback 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 wearing a tracksuit when he arrived at 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 earlier this century recalled staff bringing their own toilet paper.
Mr Caralis died aged 82 on 19 July in Benowa on Queensland’s Gold Coast. He is pictured with local Radio 97 morning show host Brooke Marsden on his 80th birthday.
In April 2003, Caralis saved tens of thousands of dollars a year when it dropped 2SM from the Sydney radio ratings system, citing a lack of confidence in the accuracy of listener surveys.
The last survey result conducted by the broadcaster before that decision was just 0.6 percent of the available audience.
A radio industry veteran told Daily Mail Australia he expected Broadcast Operations Group, which operates as Super Radio Network, to be worth 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 as a teenager and worked 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 inner west, Mr Caralis worked for a time in liquor retailing and founded Camperdown Cellars.
He was chairman of Newtown Rugby Club from 1979 to 1982, before the Jets were expelled from the top division competition.
In the early 1980s, Mr Caralis moved to Tweed Heads on the New South Wales north coast and began buying regional stations, starting in 1987 with 2RG in Griffith.
He would add sstations in Dubbo, Parkes, Mudgee, Lismore, Murwillumbah, Taree, Tamworth, Armidale, Grafton, Orange, Gunnedah, Port Macquarie, Toowoomba and Gympie.
Mr Caralis was famous both for his solitary nature and for creating a media empire that became the Super Radio Network of 42 stations in New South Wales and Queensland.
Mr Caralis bought 2SM from INXS manager Chris Murphy for $8.25m in 1999 and expanded his network the following year to include 2HD and NEWFM in Newcastle.
His death prompted enthusiastic tributes from many of the radio stations he owned.
“Mr Caralis had a close connection with his staff and was deeply involved in his stations and the people who worked for him,” Toowoomba station 4WK posted on social media.
‘His love and passion for radio was inspiring and he will be greatly missed by all here at 4WK.’
Brooke Marsden, host of Radio 97’s breakfast show, which broadcasts on the Gold Coast and the Tweed and Northern Rivers in New South Wales, also expressed her condolences.
“It was an honor to meet Bill Caralis, a true legend and a unique human being,” he wrote.
“IThank you for everything Billy, may your big beautiful heart rest in peace.
Radio 2VM in Moree reported: ‘We have been assured that everything will continue 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 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Clear Island Waters on the Gold Coast on Friday.
