Nicola Forrest now Australia’s second wealthiest woman after splitting from Andrew
After separating from husband Andrew, Nicola Forrest’s paper wealth will exceed that of any other Australian female besides Gina Rinehart.
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Nicola Forrest is Australia’s second wealthiest woman after confirmation of the end of her 31-year marriage to mining magnate Andrew Forrest.
Ms Forrest’s paper wealth will exceed any other Australian female besides Gina Rinehart, who topped this year’s edition of The List – Australia’s Richest 250 in late March, as a result of the transfer of some Fortescue Metals Group shares in her name and the splitting of some other family assets.
It means Ms Forrest is also Australia’s 140th billionaire.
Mr Forrest and Ms Forrest announced late on Wednesday night that they “have made the decision to live apart”.
Recent movements in the ownership of the Forrest family’s huge shareholdings in FMG give some indication on how the former couple could split their wealth.
About $1.1bn of FMG shares are now held by a new company called Coaxial Ventures, a private company owned by Ms Forrest, as shown in a notification sent to the ASX by FMG on June 22.
The pair now jointly own Tattarang, the family’s private investment vehicle, which also holds about $19bn worth of FMG shares.
If 50 per cent of that is attributed to Ms Forrest it would – along with the Coaxial shareholding – push her paper fortune above $10bn. Private holdings would also then be added to that figure.
Mr Forrest and Ms Forrest will both continue to sit on the boards of Tattarang and Minderoo Foundation.
Mrs Rinehart is Australia’s wealthiest person with an estimated $37.1bn fortune. Ms Forrest would be the country’s second richest woman, ahead of Canva co-founder Melanie Perkins who shares her $10.13bn wealth with husband and fellow technology entrepreneur Cliff Obrecht.
The next wealthiest women on the Richest 250 are mining heiress Angela Bennett ($4.26bn) and Bianca Rinehart, Ginia Rinehart and Hope Welker, who each have $2.88bn wealth attributed to them from Hancock Prospecting.
The Forrests said their decision to separate would not change the direction of Fortescue Metals.
“After 31 years of marriage, we have made the decision to live apart. Our friendship and commitment to our family remains strong. There is no impact on the operations, control or direction of Fortescue, Minderoo or Tattarang.” the couple said in a statement.
“We will continue our shared mission to create and gift our wealth to tackle community and global challenges, as recently shown by last month’s donation of one-fifth of our Fortescue shareholding to Minderoo Foundation.”
A spokesman said there is no change to the ownership structure, control or direction of Fortescue.
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Originally published as Nicola Forrest now Australia’s second wealthiest woman after splitting from Andrew
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