John Ilhan: A Crazy Life

John Ilhan: a crazy life tells the fascinating story of John Ilhan – a working-class immigrant who overcame incredible odds to become one of the richest men in Australia. Founder of phenomenally successful mobile telephone company Crazy John’s, Ilhan tragically passed away in 2007 at the age of forty-two.

As told through the eyes of his family, friends and colleagues, this poignant biography reveals new insights into the man behind Crazy John’s, the wife and four children he left behind and his David and Goliath battle with Telstra.

Ilhan’s inspirational journey shows how self-belief, passion and a never-say-die attitude can see you achieve your dreams.

Acknowledgement

Karen McCreadie was originally commissioned by John Wiley & Sons in 2004 to write John Ilhan’s book. Karen conducted a series of interviews with John and wrote a manuscript called The Black, The White and The Crazy, as a reflection of John’s business techniques and unique way of looking at the world. Although the book was successfully submitted to the publishers it was never published. John was in the middle of an epic court case with Telstra and wanted to delay publication until it was resolved. More importantly John felt his story was far from finished… Unfortunately the Telstra settlement took considerably longer than anyone had imagined and shortly after its conclusion John passed away… It was Patricia’s desire to tell his story publicly that saw the manuscript taken down from the shelf. Unfortunately Karen McCreadie was committed to other projects overseas at this time. As a result this book has undergone its own journey. Importantly, John’s presence is evident throughout, owing to the book’s first version authored by Karen McCreadie but the story could not have been told without the vital contribution of everyone involved.