Why Ryan Stokes is following his billionaire father into the media

September 7, 2026 — 3:48pm

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The House of Stokes simply cannot quit Seven.

When octogenarian billionaire Kerry Stokes stepped away from his media empire in February after securing a merger with Southern Cross, many observers suggested the family was washing its hands of the industry.

Not so fast. On Monday, Stokes’ son, Ryan Stokes, was announced as chair of Southern Cross Media, the newly merged entity. In doing so, Stokes becomes the fourth person to chair the company since the start of the year, a move which puts the Seven network and The West Australian newspaper back in the hands of one of the nation’s most influential media families after months of boardroom upheaval.

In many ways, this is an unexpected move for Stokes the younger. Unlike his father, he has never shown much interest in being a media mogul.

His energies are largely devoted to the far more profitable industrial conglomerate SGH Ltd, which owns construction materials company Boral and equipment rental firm Coates Hire. That acronym was born after Ryan pushed to........

© Brisbane Times