Larry Adler; Australian Insurance Tycoon

Larry Adler, 57, a Hungarian refugee from World War II who arrived in Australia penniless and became one of its leading business tycoons. Adler was chairman and chief executive of FAI Insurances Ltd., one of Australia’s largest companies. Known as a shrewd and sometimes ruthless workaholic, Adler once described work as something to “play at.” Arriving in the country in 1949, Adler worked as a gas station attendant, record-shop owner and taxi driver before forming Fire & All Risks Insurance in 1960 with $56,000 cash. FAI now is a $2-billion-a-year business and is listed on exchanges in New York, Toronto, Switzerland, New Zealand, London, Hong Kong and Singapore. In Sydney on Tuesday of a heart attack.