Recent news in Australia has sparked debate: a ban on social media for under-16s. The government’s intent is clear – to “protect” young people from online pressures. But what if age alone isn’t the barrier to greatness?

Consider this: at 16, Lindsay Fox already had a truck driver’s licence, a battered Ford F200 borrowed from his mother’s shop till, and a vision for building one of Australia’s most successful transport empires. No filters, no likes, no algorithms – just grit, charm, and an iron handshake.

Fox is a reminder that real achievement often starts quietly, far from the headlines. He wasn’t wrapped in cotton wool, he wasn’t shielded from risk, and he certainly didn’t need a government protective shield to prove himself.

There are very few people who can be described as legends in their own lifetime. Sporting champions receive constant publicity, and the names of some captains of industry endure through the products they create. But most business people, even the wealthy ones, remain obscure.

One of these rare figures is Lindsay Fox, founder of Linfox, a company whose trucks are as familiar to Australians as gum trees and footy finals.

In 2023, long-time PR Blog contributor Happy Expat wrote a superb biography of Fox -  one of the best ever published on the man. His tribute captured the sweep of a life that started with one truck and ended with an empire. Two years on, there are new chapters to tell.

Early Life and the One-Truck Beginning

Lindsay Fox was born in Sydney in 1937 and raised in a working-class family in Prahran, Melbourne, where hard work was the norm. His father died young. School never suited him, and at 14 he left to make his own way.

By 16 he had a truck driver’s licence – gained by telling the licensing office he was 19, because “they checked 18-year-olds, but they never checked 19-year-olds.” In 1956, at the age of 19, he bought his first truck: a battered Ford F200 for £400 borrowed from his mother’s shop till. He still owns it today.

Two years later he bought a second truck and slapped a simple slogan on his growing fleet:

“You are passing another Fox.”

He hauled coal in winter, soft drinks in summer, and dreams in between.

By 1958 he had his first major contract with Schweppes and soon expanded to 10 trucks. By 1960 the business had outgrown the backyard at Prahran and moved to a depot at Moorabbin.

Fox was also a promising footballer, playing reserves and seniors for St Kilda. In 1961, with six children already and a seventh on the way, he hung up the boots to focus on business – but he never forgot the club. In 1979, when the Saints were in dire trouble, he returned as president and turned its fortunes around.

The Rise of Linfox

The 1960s brought major contracts: Dunlop in 1963, Coles soon after. In 1966 the name officially became Linfox Transport Pty Ltd.

In 1968 a huge contract with Courage Breweries doubled the fleet to 60 trucks. By the 1970s the business had gone national, driven by booming demand for home heating oil. Contracts rolled in from BP, Woolworths and Coca-Cola.

By the late 1970s the fleet had grown to 1,000 vehicles, forcing the company to build service centres, warehouses, and full-scale logistics infrastructure.

Through the 1980s and 1990s the empire spread across Australasia. Linfox became the largest privately owned logistics company in the region, with operations in New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and China.

A generational shift began in the 1990s when Lindsay stepped aside as executive chairman in favour of his son Peter, who rose through the ranks the same way his father had: shop floor first, boardroom later.

By the end of the decade the fleet had grown to 3,000 trucks, 2,500 employees and millions of square feet of warehousing.

Into the Skies: Airports and Aviation

The late 1990s and 2000s saw the Fox empire take to the air.

In 1997 Linfox bought Avalon Airport, then a derelict facility outside Geelong. Today it hosts Jetstar flights, pilot training, international charters and the famed Air Show.

In 2001, with the Beck Corporation, Linfox took over Essendon Airport, transforming it into the thriving Essendon Fields commercial precinct.

The family also purchased the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and established Australia’s largest private automotive testing ground at Anglesea.

The Man Behind the Wheel

Despite his success, Fox never stopped relating to ordinary workers - one of the reasons unions respected him. With ACTU leader Bill Kelty, he toured Australia during the 1990–91 recession, helping create an estimated 60,000 jobs.

Asked about his politics, he once joked:

“Labor think I’m Liberal and Liberals think I’m Labor.
Catholics think I’m Protestant, Protestants think I’m Catholic,
and the local rabbi brings me matse.
I guess the bottom line is: I’m an Australian.”

In 1992 he became an Officer of the Order of Australia; in 2001 he received the Centenary Medal; in 2008 he was elevated to Companion of the Order of Australia.

The New Chapter: 2023–2025

In 2023, Happy Expat concluded his biography by calling Fox “one of the last great entrepreneurial pioneers.” Two years later, the old truckie is proving that pioneers don’t retire – they just shift gears.

Still Steering From the Back Seat

As of 2025, Lindsay Fox is 88 and officially retired – about half a dozen times. Official titles mean nothing: he still pops up at board meetings, airport inspections, charity events and occasionally behind the wheel of a modern rig “just for a feel.”

Linfox posted a record $4 billion in revenue this year, with more than 5,000 trucks (including a fast-growing electric fleet) and 24,000 employees across twelve Asia-Pacific nations.

In January, the company quietly acquired Singapore-based Masindo Logistic, strengthening its Asian footprint yet again.

The Armaguard Crisis

The biggest headline came not from freight but from Armaguard, the cash-in-transit company Fox bought in 1982.

With cash use collapsing, Armaguard was weeks away from shutting down in early 2025. Two thousand jobs were on the line.

The banks caved first.

In a frantic series of meetings, Fox brokered a $50 million rescue package, with Bill Kelty stepping in to manage union fears. Now, unbelievably, the banks are lobbying Canberra to classify physical cash as an “essential service.” Only Lindsay Fox could turn a near-collapse into a national debate about the future of money.

Generation Three Arrives

At the Australian Open final in January 2025, Fox was seen courtside with grandson Harry, freshly recruited into the family business. With Peter Fox firmly in charge as executive chairman, the third generation’s arrival sent a clear message:
The dynasty isn’t ending – it’s evolving.

The Family’s Philanthropic Legacy

Paula Fox, Lindsay’s wife since 1959, was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in 2024 for decades of philanthropic leadership. The Fox Family Foundation has directed more than $50 million to medical research, hospitals, and the arts in the past two years alone.

Meanwhile, Forbes lists the Fox family’s wealth at $2.9 billion – up half a billion since 2023.

The Australia That Made Him — And That He Made

Happy Expat ended his original article wondering whether the Australia that made Lindsay Fox - the Australia that rewarded risk, grit, loyalty, pride in a clean truck, and a handshake deal – still existed.

And yet here he is in 2025:

• 88 years old
• still creating jobs
• still closing deals
• still backing workers
• still expanding a company he started as a teenager
• still proving that legends do not have an expiry date

And the core Fox formula never changed:

Back yourself.
Work like hell.
Look after your people.
And never sell the trucks.

A Lesson for Today’s Young Australians

The story of Lindsay Fox is more than a business biography. It is a reminder that age alone is never the true measure of potential. In an era where governments rush to shield teenagers from online pressures, Fox’s life shows that young people can achieve extraordinary things when given trust, responsibility, and the chance to take risks.

From a 16-year-old driving a borrowed truck to an 88-year-old still shaping industry and creating jobs, real achievement grows from grit, vision, and hard work.

Before we wrap the next generation in cotton wool, perhaps we should remember: the Australia that made Lindsay Fox – and the one he helped create – thrives when ambition is encouraged, talent is trusted, and effort is rewarded.