Felix Lee faces member mutiny at family-controlled Terrey Hills Golf and Country Club amid ATO investigation into father Phillip Dong Fang Lee
Updated ,first published
If Felix Ming Ze Lee, the 25-year-old son of beleaguered billionaire businessman Phillip Dong Fang Lee, is wondering what else could go wrong this week, there’s bad news for members of Terrey Hills Golf and Country Club.
As former Victorian premier Dan Andrews inspected the championship course earlier this week, more than 100 members of the privately owned championship golf club controlled by the Lee family threatened legal action against management, saying the club had breached its charter following allegations of oppressive behavior and excessive annual subscription fee increases.
Falling resale values of membership shares and new joining, management and registration fees are fueling growing hostility among some members, leading members to describe it as the only good golf club in Sydney with a “dealer waiting list”.
A revolt by members of the prestigious course caps a turbulent week for the young businessman. It began with dinner with the Prime Minister, but was marred days later by the emergence of damning allegations from the tax office about her father’s “sham” financial arrangements to funnel large sums of money from China to Australia.
A comprehensive investigation into Phillip Lee’s financial affairs has not only shed light on the previously inscrutable origins of his fortune, but also included suspicions that the family patriarch continued to operate his businesses in China decades after he told Australian authorities he was selling his business assets there.
“ [tax] The Commissioner believes that Mr Lee still has business and financial interests in the People’s Republic of China [People’s Republic of China]despite previous representations to the Australian government that all of its businesses in the PRC had been sold as part of its immigration application,” the tax office statement states.
Additionally, “these businesses appear to be held in structures that mask Mr. Lee’s actual ownership and control over these assets. In particular, the Commissioner believes that Mr. Lee structured his financial affairs to give the impression that his mother and her business partners were in fact the owners of the businesses operated and owned by him.”
Felix Lee has sought to distance himself from his father’s business and financial affairs in recent years by establishing the Lee Family Office and inviting former federal treasurer and former U.S. ambassador Joe Hockey as president.
Felix Lee declined to comment in response to questions about the tax office’s damning allegations about his father. “Phillip Lee’s tax affairs are his own and are not related to Felix Lee,” a spokesman for him said earlier this week.
In response to questions about the legal letter, a spokesman for the club’s management said both parties had communicated regarding their clients’ put forward but controversial positions.
“The board received the legal correspondence, carefully considered the allegations and responded comprehensively through its legal representatives, denying the allegations,” the spokesman said. “The company maintains that it acted lawfully in accordance with the club’s constitution and the directors’ duties.”
At the center of Felix Lee’s responsibilities in recent years has been Terrey Hills Golf and Country Club, a prestigious championship course purchased by his parents from a syndicate of Japanese investors a decade ago.
Felix Lee was appointed director in November 2020, a few weeks after his 20th birthday, and was recently promoted to chairman. Board members include his uncle Victor Lin, known among members as a passionate golfer, and Felix’s younger brother Edward Feng Zhao Lee, who was appointed early last year just after his 19th birthday. Felix’s mother, Xiaobei Shi, resigned early last year.
Former club member George Kalil didn’t know who Felix was when he first met him at a committee meeting at the club in 2023, but he hasn’t forgotten it.
“Felix Lee arrived without any introduction and completely unknown to me and the other committee members,” Kalil said. “I thought he was there to take the coffee order, but he wasn’t the new waiter. He was Phillip Lee’s son and launched into a ‘you guys should know your place’ tirade.”
From what Kalil and others realized, things were ready to change again at the club. Among the changes, the committee elected by members three years ago was abolished and replaced with an advisory panel appointed by Lee family executives.
According to members, the original committee structure ostensibly gave members some oversight over the financial management of the club, but the new advisory panel did not allow this.
A spokesman for the board said it believed the current structure increased effective member engagement as it invited a more diverse cross-section of the membership base, including women, those with different playing abilities and members who previously did not feel their views were heard.
The members’ letter alleges that annual subscription fees have risen to a total of more than 20 percent in the last two years, far beyond the 5 percent annual limit mandated in the club’s charter.
The board rejected arguments for a 5 percent cap on annual fees and said it was not responsible for changes in membership resale values. “Subscriptions are determined based on the club’s working capital and occasional expenses.”
Membership requests that the board of directors charge a new member joining fee, management fee and registration fee if a member tries to sell or transfer his shares were also rejected by the board; instead, participation and management fees have been in effect since about 2000.
In correspondence seen in this byline, it was revealed that a founding member recently waited a year with no buyers before selling his membership for $12,000, less than the club’s new joining fee of $12,500.
One of the members currently on the waiting list to sell his shares in the club is James de Stigter, who paid around $45,000 to join. After an injury left him unable to play for the last 18 months, he put his membership up for sale and expects it to sell for around $9,000.
After Stephen Schinagel’s wife, Heather Mead, died, she inquired about her membership being put up for sale and was told late last year they would sell for about $20,000. This was a dramatic loss compared to the $65,000 he paid in 2017. That amount has since been reduced to $15,000 in an effort to speed up the process.
“The market value of memberships is affected by a range of factors including wider economic conditions, discretionary spending and market demand, and the risks associated with membership have been well documented in various company launches,” the spokesperson said.
Members had hoped to raise their concerns at the annual general meeting on 30 June, particularly as to why annual wages had increased given the $7.2 million cash reserves the club held, but the opportunity never arose.
Felix Lee, who opened the meeting, immediately announced that no dividends would be declared and closed the meeting. Two minutes later it was all over.
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Lucy Macken is an investigative reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
