Brisbane’s best known Lord Mayor, Clem Jones, who was accorded a state funeral yesterday, may end up being even better known as Australia’s greatest philanthropist.

While it was common knowledge that he was well off, the true extent of his personal wealth has only become more evident since his death last Saturday, aged 89.

And even more significantly, virtually every dollar of his estate has been left to charitable and community cases, to be administered by the Clem Jones Trust he set up before his death.

The most reliable private estimate of his worth I have heard this week is $200 million – and growing rapidly. While he made his fortune from land and property even before he became Lord Mayor in 1961, in recent years he made much more from massive shareholdings in blue chip companies.

For some years he was the largest individual shareholder in the Bank of Queensland ($17.66 yesterday) and Watpac ($4.37).

If the estate is worth $200 million, and it may be even more, the total distribution to charities and community groups over the decade or more will probably exceed that as he was a most astute investor in property and shares.

Clem Jones was an extremely generous benefactor to a range of causes in his life – the aged, homeless, sport for young people, cricket and soccer, and the families of children suffering from leukaemia. He recently gave – unannounced – $2 million to enable cluster housing to be built to look after country parents in Brisbane while their children receive specialist treatment for leukaemia.

Clem Jones is not survived by any immediate family. His wife, Sylvia, died in 1999 and they did not have any children. It has been known for some time that virtually the whole of his vast estate would be left to charity and community causes, to be administered by trustees he chose before his death.

One of the beneficiaries will be the republican cause. His trustees have been left a substantial sum to pursue the “Clem Jones Republican Model” – an elected Head of State.

Future generations may well be fascinated by the fact that our greatest philanthropist was a life long Labor Party member, a Labor Lord Mayor of Brisbane, and someone who, despite his uncanny ability to promote his policies and causes in his 14 year term as Lord Mayor, in later life kept virtually private his extensive generosity that has benefited thousands of people in Brisbane and beyond.

And they may even be more fascinated to know that, throughout his record term as Lord Mayor, he did not draw the lord mayoral salary – which today is about $240,000 a year!