Settlement contains Richard White’s second nondisclosure agreement with alleged exes
WiseTech boss Richard White has settled the court fight he started with his ex-lover and it involves the second NDA he has signed with women he’s allegedly been in a relationship with.
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Billionaire Richard White has now signed at least two nondisclosure agreements with ex-lovers, with the abandonment of his legal fight with Sydney beauty entrepreneur Linda Rogan bringing an end to a three week saga that has cost the WiseTech founder billions.
Mr White, who has estimated wealth of almost $15bn, had pursued Ms Rogan for bankruptcy in a matter regarding $91,000 in furniture she had purchased for a secret $13.1m mansion in Sydney’s Vaucluse he had purchased for her to live in.
But it was revealed on Tuesday that the legal case between Mr White and Ms Rogan had ended when Ms Rogan filed a notice of discontinuance with the Federal Court.
It is understood a settlement between the pair was agreed, potentially worth more than $1m to Ms Rogan, an owner of Laser Clinics franchises in Sydney, Queensland and New Zealand.
Sources told The Australian a nondisclosure agreement was also struck.
Ms Rogan would not answer questions when contacted by The Australian. Her solicitor Kate MacDonald declined to comment when asked about a nondisclosure agreement.
The WiseTech board refused to answer questions put to it by The Australian on Tuesday, including the appropriateness of Ms Rogan being restricted from discussing the legal matter given Mr White brought the case against her, and Mr White’s public support for women in technology and WiseTech Earn & Learn program given Mr White, WiseTech’s chief executive, has faced other allegations from women revolving around him sharing business advice before turning the relationship into a sexual one.
The abandonment of the court action involving Ms Rogan came three weeks after revelations about the case first became public in the Federal Court.
Mr White’s stake in WiseTech has fallen about $3.5bn in that time as the technology company’s share price slumped after a series of revelations about its founder and biggest shareholder.
Mr White pursued the bankruptcy action after Ms Rogan had successfully sought a garnishee order last year on his Westpac bank account for about $91,000, a sum she alleged she shelled out on luxury furniture for a Vaucluse mansion Mr White secretly purchased for her in September 2022.
The billionaire allegedly later locked Ms Rogan out of the house after their affair was discovered by his now wife Zena Nasser.
The Australian also recently revealed a second woman — psychologist Jenna Riches — accused Mr White of offering business advice in exchange for sex, including the billionaire gifting Ms Riches a bunch of flowers containing a sex toy.
Ms Riches said her first contact with Mr White was in December last year, after she messaged him on LinkedIn hoping for suggestions on how to expand her private psychology practice.
The 38-year-old claimed Mr White suggested she read at least 10 business books, including the Incerto series by Nassim Taleb and shared other entrepreneurial advice on dozens of messages and FaceTime discussions.
The Australian also this week revealed Mr White bought a house for another woman he was involved with, Marcia Kensell, in 2018 in Sydney’s Lane Cove. A falling-out between Ms Kensell and Mr White led to her taking legal action.
The WiseTech billionaire’s private life became public after Ms Rogan fought back against his attempt to bankrupt her.
In a series of court documents reported by The Australian, Ms Rogan alleged that Mr White reneged on a promise $2m to invest in her wellness business Bionik located in Sydney’s inner east.
Ms Rogan claimed the business deal was sealed after she agreed to have a sexual relationship with Mr White, while he was also in a relationship with his now wife Ms Nasser.
“When I met Richard, I genuinely believed he was interested in investing in my business … After a few weeks I realised Richard was pursuing a sexual relationship,” Ms Rogan claims in documents released by the Federal Court earlier this month.
“[I] travelled to New York at the request of Richard. Richard arranged my flights. When I arrived at the Park Lane Hotel to check in, I was informed that only 1 suite had been arranged. I realised that Richard expected me to enter into a sexual relationship with him to fulfil the promise that he would invest in my business. So I stayed with Richard in his suite and our relationship became sexual.”
According to Ms Rogan’s affidavits, Mr White said he would invest in her business but only if her existing partners were dumped from the company.
“I want to make you and your business ideas massively successful – that’s how you can repay me … financial freedom is empowering. And life is short – so I want you to double down and build this thing,” Ms Rogan alleges Mr White told her via WhatsApp messages, according to court documents.
She alleged Mr White agreed to buy them out, but defaulted on the deal and later lost $250,000 after Ms Nasser abruptly ended their affair and told her to stop contacting her husband.
“Mr White and Ms Rogan have settled the Federal Court proceeding which related to a commercial dispute,” Mr White said in a statement via a spokeswoman on Tuesday.
“Ms Rogan has withdrawn all her allegations, and the parties are not pursuing any further court action.
“Given this was a personal matter Mr White has settled to avoid any distraction from his primary focus which is on implementing WiseTech’s growth strategy and continuing to create value for its shareholders and customers.”
Mr White’s lawyer, Justin Betar, was contacted for comment but did not respond.
The end of the court action put an immediate charge in WiseTech’s share price in the middle of trading early on Tuesday afternoon.
WiseTech shares had fallen about 2.5 per cent in the morning, before a turnaround saw it shoot up about 6 per cent after lunchtime.
The share price ended up about 2.8 per cent for the day to $107.62, but are still down about 20 per cent since the beginning of October.
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Originally published as Settlement contains Richard White’s second nondisclosure agreement with alleged exes
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