An Australian businessman who was jailed for insider trading is now among the country's richest people after cashing in on the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
Oliver Curtis walked out of a NSW prison on June 23, 2017 after serving 12 months of a two-year sentence for conspiring to commit 45 illicit trades, which banked him and former pal John Hartman $1.43 million.
Less than 10 years after his release, Curtis, 41, has made his debut on the Australian Financial Review (AFR) rich list with an estimated personal fortune of $1.25 billion.
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Curtis has earned this impressive net worth through Singapore-based AI infrastructure start-up Firmus, which is on track for a nearly $7 billlion valuation after computer chip giant Nvidia doubled its investment last month.
The former investment banker is now the 125th-richest person in Australia, according to the AFR.
Curtis is in good company as a rich list debutant.
There are 15 other first-time entries, including the founders of chicken chain El Jannah and clothing brand White Fox.
His path to the rich list is one that is as well-documented as it is tumultuous.
Curtis, the husband of well-known public relations boss Roxy Jacenko, began Firmus alongside his cousin Tim Rosenfield in 2019.
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Just nine years ago, Curtis was a newly-released parolee after a year-long stint at Cooma Correctional Centre.
He served the minimum sentence for insider trading, which took place between May 1, 2007, and June 30, 2008, resulting in a net profit of $1,432,228.85.
At the time, Justice Lucy McCallum said Curtis "shows no sign of progression beyond the self-interested pursuit of material wealth which prompted his offending".
The money was spent on luxury cars, a Bondi apartment and trips overseas.
His co-conspirator Hartman later became the Crown's star witness and served a 15-month sentence at Silverwater jail.
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Curtis was back in business plotting his billionaire redemption arc within months of walking free and reuniting with Jacenko and his children.
Before Firmus, he co-founded cryptocurrency medical start-up e-Nome with his father Nick Curtis.
The company fizzled out quickly and Curtis then pivoted to AI, launching Firmus two years later in 2019.
Despite his criminal record, Curtis was given the green-light to run Firmus as a publicly-listed company in March this year.
Firmus is expected to float on the ASX by September.
