The Group CEO, Shemara Wikramanayake recently retired with shares worth hundreds of millions of dollars (Aus)

The company foundations were laid through private infrastructure deals that greatly enriched Macquarie while delivering expensive or substandard services.

Macquarie shareholders, have tripled their money over the past eight years (paid for through customer's bills)

They acquired Thames Water, in 2006. After extracting billions in dividends for itself and other investors, and loading the company with debt, Macquarie sold out in 2017. Thames is now effectively bankrupt.

Another example worth mentioning is the privatisation of Sydney airport to a Macquarie-led consortium, which promptly raised a wide range of fees and charges.

Source: John Quiggin professor at the University of Queensland’s School of Economics, writing in The Guardian July 2026