{{Short description|Australian businessman, actor, motivational speaker and writer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox person | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Robert Ansett | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1933|08|08}} | birth_place = Melbourne, Australia | death_date = | death_place = | education = | known_for = Founder of Budget Rent-a-Car Australia | spouse = Jossie Ansett (m. 1 January 1975) | occupation = | children = 3 | parents = Reg and Grace Ansett | family = brother John Ansett, sisters Jane, Janet and Jill Ansett }}
'''Robert "Bob" Ansett''' (born 8 August 1933 in Melbourne) is an Australian entrepreneur, actor, author, motivational speaker, and former chairman of the North Melbourne Football Club.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/ansett-the-saviour-again-for-roos/news-story/f25f9893e148bf748931d0bdeb4338ba |title=Ansett the saviour again for Roos |first=Greg |last=Denham |website=Fox Footy |date=24 April 2008 |access-date=9 August 2022 |archive-date=9 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809085831/https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/ansett-the-saviour-again-for-roos/news-story/f25f9893e148bf748931d0bdeb4338ba |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Early life== Ansett is the son of Reg Ansett and Grace Ansett. Reg Ansett was the owner of various businesses, including Ansett Transport Industries, Diners Club Australia, Ansett Australia and, much later, Avis Australia.
Bob Ansett's parents divorced in 1941, when Bob was seven or eight years old. He, his mother Grace, and brother John, soon moved to the United States.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ansett-sir-reginald-myles-reg-12142 |title=Biography – Sir Reginald Myles (Reg) Ansett – Australian Dictionary of Biography<!-- Bot generated title --> |chapter=Ansett, Sir Reginald Myles (Reg) (1909–1981) |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |access-date=2022-08-09 |archive-date=2022-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328115009/https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ansett-sir-reginald-myles-reg-12142 |url-status=live}}</ref> Ansett grew up in the US state of Alaska, and has claimed that, during the 20 years he lived in the States, he saw his father no more than five times,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/24-years-later-ansetts-battle-for-the-millions-20060122-gdmtp8.html |title=24 years later, Ansetts battle for the millions |first=Christopher |last=Webb |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=22 January 2006 |access-date=2022-08-09 |archive-date=2022-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809095528/https://www.smh.com.au/national/24-years-later-ansetts-battle-for-the-millions-20060122-gdmtp8.html |url-status=live}}</ref> their relationship seemingly severed by the distance between their places of residence. Ansett has said that he never visited his father's home in Mount Eliza, Victoria, or met his three stepsisters.
In 1955, he was drafted by the United States Army and served in Japan. In North America, Ansett attended the University of Utah with an American football scholarship.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{Cite news |url=https://noosatoday.com.au/news/21-12-2020/bobs-still-on-the-job/ |title=Bob's still on the job |first=Phil |last=Jarratt |work=Noosa Today |date=20 December 2020 |access-date=2022-08-09 |archive-date=2021-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411173756/https://noosatoday.com.au/news/21-12-2020/bobs-still-on-the-job/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[https://www.hireandrentalnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/magazine-archives/no1/027%20Hire%20-%20Aug-Sep%201975.pdf "Bob Ansett's Budget"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316224131/https://www.hireandrentalnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/magazine-archives/no1/027%20Hire%20-%20Aug-Sep%201975.pdf |date=16 March 2022 }}, ''Hire: Journal of the Hire Industry'', Keith Breusch Publishing Pty. Ltd., Sydney, Australia, volume 8, number 2, August/September 1975.</ref>
==Budget Rent a Car== By 1965, Ansett was having financial difficulties in the United States. At the same time, the car rental industry in Australia was booming. Both federal and state governments in Australia took a protective stance regarding publicly owned companies, by restricting competition that might affect them.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cartalk.com.au/bob-ansett-budget-rent-a-car.html |title=The Budget Rent a Car story started in 1965 in La Trobe St. Melbourne |website=Cartalk |access-date=2022-08-09 |archive-date=2022-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314090558/https://www.cartalk.com.au/bob-ansett-budget-rent-a-car.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
The lion's share of the Australian car rental industry's business belonged to Avis Australia, which later belonged to Bob Ansett's father, Reg. Avis Australia had government contacts, as well as contracts with Qantas and Reg Ansett's airline, Ansett Australia, which led to Avis company being the sole licensed car rental operator at Australia's 56 major airports. With that in mind, Bob Ansett decided to return to Australia. He was in need of a job and asked his father for one, but was denied. Ansett then raised some capital and became licensed to use the name of Budget Rent a Car, the American car rental company, in Australia.<ref name=autogenerated1 /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theadviser.com.au/growth/30112-success-on-a-budget |title=Success on a budget |work=The Adviser |first=Jessica |last=Darnbrough |date=October 2012 |access-date=2022-08-09 |archive-date=2022-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810220412/https://www.theadviser.com.au/growth/30112-success-on-a-budget |url-status=live}}</ref> That meant, in essence, when Reg Ansett bought Avis Australia in 1977,<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ansett-sir-reginald-myles-reg-12142 |title=Biography – Sir Reginald Myles (Reg) Ansett – Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=Ansett, Sir Reginald Myles (Reg) (1909–1981) |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |access-date=2022-08-09 |archive-date=2022-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328115009/https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ansett-sir-reginald-myles-reg-12142 |url-status=live }}</ref> father and son became direct competitors. Bob Ansett opened the first Budget Australian location in Melbourne in 1965.<ref name=autogenerated1/>
By the early 1980s, Ansett was known to Australians as Budget Australia's owner, appearing on commercials promoting the brand,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxclJ41QAjw | title=Budget commercial (W Bob Ansett) [1980s] | website=YouTube | access-date=2022-08-09 | archive-date=2022-08-09 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809112658/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxclJ41QAjw&gl=US&hl=en | url-status=live }}</ref> and was known to occasionally show up himself at Budget locations to attend to the customers. Under Ansett's leadership, Budget had overcome, among others, the Avis operation of his father, Reg Ansett, and become the leading car rental company in Australia.
However, financial troubles loomed for the company, and several financial advisors cast doubt on Ansett's capabilities as a company president. In addition to that, Ansett did not maximise Budget's profits when the company had become the leading car rental company in Australia, because he did not consider profit a priority. There was also a financial dispute between Budget and Citibank, and the Ford Motor Company decided to stop shipping cars to Budget, which compounded the company's financial crisis.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.afr.com/companies/where-bob-ansett-went-wrong-19890623-kaj10 |title=Where Bob Ansett Went Wrong |work=Financial Review |first1=Ali |last1=Cromie |first2=Robert |last2=Gottliebsen |date=23 June 1989 |access-date=9 August 2022 |archive-date=9 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809112700/https://www.afr.com/companies/where-bob-ansett-went-wrong-19890623-kaj10| url-status=live}}</ref>
In 1990, Ansett declared himself bankrupt, owing $65,000,000 to debtors.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/ansett-to-file-for-bankruptcy-19900702-k407u |title=Ansett To File For Bankruptcy |last=Mitchell |first=Sue |work=Financial Review |date=2 July 1990 |access-date=2022-08-09 |archive-date=2022-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809231113/https://www.afr.com/politics/ansett-to-file-for-bankruptcy-19900702-k407u |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Acting career== Ansett's participation in Budget commercials made him a well-known figure in Australia and allowed him to launch a secondary career as an actor. He played himself in the 1980 short film ''Alive and Kicking'', then he played his father, Reg, in the 1991 biopic television mini-series, ''Rose Against the Odds'', about Australian world boxing champion Lionel Rose.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rose_against_the_odds |title=Rose Against the Odds |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=2022-08-09 |archive-date=2022-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809232059/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rose_against_the_odds |url-status=live }}</ref> During 1995, the mini-series had a cinema release as a feature film.
During 1996, Ansett appeared in the ABC TV reality series, ''Australian Story''.
==Sports team owner== Ansett was the president, until 1991, of the Australian rules football team, the North Melbourne Football Club, a member of the Australian Football League.
==Motivational speaker== Ansett is a motivational speaker and has been on the roster of a number of companies in that area.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.celebrityspeakers.com.au/speakers/bob-ansett/ |title=Bob Ansett |website=Celebrity Speakers |access-date=2022-08-09 |archive-date=2022-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810002937/https://www.celebrityspeakers.com.au/speakers/bob-ansett/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bob Ansett |url=https://www.saxton.com.au/speakers/bob-ansett |website=Saxton |access-date=2023-07-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201054359/https://www.saxton.com.au/speakers/bob-ansett |archive-date=2020-12-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bob Ansett |url=https://www.keynoteentertainment.com.au/speakers/business-speakers/bob-ansett |website=Keynote Entertainment |access-date=2023-07-10}}</ref>
==Author== Ansett has written two books: ''Bob Ansett, an autobiography'' (1986) and ''The Customer'' (1989).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/1767289.Bob_Ansett |title=Books by Bob Ansett |website=Goodreads |access-date=2022-08-10 |archive-date=2022-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810002743/https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/1767289.Bob_Ansett |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Personal life== Ansett married a Japanese woman during his military service in Japan and they had three children together. The family moved to Australia but the whereabouts of the children are unknown today.
He married Josephine Ansett (née Chadwick) on 1 January 1975. They have been married since and have 3 children.
The Ansetts reside in Noosa, Queensland. In 1992, the Ansetts faced an eviction from their home, because of a federal court action brought over by Bob Ansett's bankruptcy trustee. After a five-year court battle, it was decided, on 28 March 1998, that the Ansetts would keep their home.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Burrell |first1=Andrew |title=Bob Ansett keeps his Noosa home |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/bob-ansett-keeps-his-noosa-home-19980326-k7z67 |access-date=2023-07-10 |work=Financial Review |date=1998-03-26}}</ref>
===Health problems=== Ansett has faced some health problems as an older man. An avid marathon runner who still ran well into his eighties, he needed a hip replacement in his early seventies because of a fall during a jogging session.
He also had cancer, in his case, a melanoma. He was, as of 2022, cancer-free.<ref name=autogenerated2 />
== References == {{Reflist}} {{Avis Budget Group|state=expanded}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansett, Bob}} Category:1933 births Category:Living people Category:Australian actors Category:Businesspeople from Victoria (state) Category:North Melbourne Football Club administrators Category:21st-century Australian writers Category:People from Melbourne Category:University of Utah alumni Category:United States Army soldiers