Iranian refugee who couldn’t speak a word of English when his family fled to Australia is now worth $300 million
- Former refugee who knew no English when he came to Australia worth millions
- Aram Mirkazemi has worth of $300 million following big stock exchange boon
- Mirkazemi is CEO of software company Altium after he joined in late 1980s
- Company traded below 10 cents in 2011 but closed 20 per cent higher Tuesday
A former refugee who couldn’t speak a word of English when he came to Australia is now worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Aram Mirkazemi reached a personal worth of $300 million dollars after shares in his software company Altium soared to a record high, Sydney Morning Herald reported.
In true fairy tale fashion, Mr Mirkazemi managed to turn his humble beginnings around.
He fled Iran and arrived in Australia in the 1980s unable to speak English.
But rather than make excuses, Mr Mirkazemi knuckled down and got to work.
Aram Mirkazemi reached a personal worth of $300 million dollars after shares in his software company Altium soared to a record high
The hard-working migrant completed an engineering course at a university in Hobart within six weeks of touching down in the country.
In a matter of years, he was hired by Altium founder Nick Martin to work for the small tech firm.
Altium makes design software for circuit boards found in various household products like refrigerators, but has not always enjoyed a strong presence on the market.
Mr Mirkazemi left the company in 1999 after the company floated on the stock exchange, but returned over a decade later in 2010.
Fast forward to today, and Mr Mirkazemi has made his success in his own right.
Stocks for Altium traded below 10 cents in 2011, but have since skyrocketed to $32.56 this week after reporting a 24 per cent rise in revenue in the last half year.
The results come off a strong growth in China where revenue grew by 49 per cent.
‘China has long been an issue for the business due to high levels of piracy,’ Altium investor Ben Clarke said.
Stocks for Altium traded below 10 cents in 2011, but in a surprise turn of events they closed 20 per cent higher at $32.56 on Tuesday (stock picture)
‘It appears they are having success pushing companies who have been illegally using the company’s software over a paywall.’
Mr Mirkazemi’s stakes soared in line with the trading prices, rising more than 119 per cent in the last 12 months.
The company’s strong performance has placed it on track to meet its 2020 revenue target of $200 million.
Altium has also declared it intends to become the market leader in printed circuit board design software by that date.
As it stands, the company is valued at more than 20 times its 2020 revenue target.
Altium has also declared it intends to become the market leader in printed circuit board design software by that date (pictured)