David Bussau was abandoned by his parents as a young boy and raised in Sedgley Anglican orphanage in Masterton, New Zealand. At the age of 15 he began to make his own way in the world, using entrepreneurial skills to buy and sell small businesses.
In 1965, after moving to Sydney with his wife, Bussau quickly found work in the building industry and was very successful, eventually becoming a millionaire at the age of 35.
He decided to use his skills to help others. When cyclone Tracy flattened Darwin in 1974 he arranged for a team of builders to help rebuild Aboriginal housing. Then, in 1976 the Bussaus travelled to Bali to help when an earthquake destroyed villages.
Divesting himself of his companies, David Bussau created Opportunity International, a global aid organisation which helps people in Third World countries to start their own businesses and stop the cycle of poverty. This aid organisation has created over 600,000 jobs in some of the poorest countries in the world.
David Bussau has taught entrepreneurship at three American universities and has lectured at Oxford. In 2001 he was awarded the AM, Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia, for service to international development.
