Not quite for richer, for poorer as billionaire Besen separates from wife

Cartoon by Rod Clement.

Melbourne retail billionaire scion, property developer and private equiteer Daniel Besen has split from his wife Danielle.

The pair had been married for 16 years, but are now believed to be living apart in Melbourne with a liquidation of their joint multi-million-dollar assets well under way.

Besen, 51, is one of Marc and Eva Besen’s four children. Eva Besen is property billionaire John Gandel’s sister, with the family boasting a combined wealth of about $2.5 billion.

It is understood Daniel and Danielle, 43, separated as far back as April, with the high-profile Melbourne couple now selling the landmark 9 Towers Road home in Toorak they have just completed, but never lived in.

The home is expected to set a new Melbourne real estate record, with an international marketing campaign targeting a deal worth more than $30 million.

Besen has moved into a rented modern townhouse in central Toorak, while his former wife has taken up residence in a newly renovated heritage home in more suburban Elsternwick. It appears both are renting for the time being until the financial settlement can be finalised.

Ironically, in happier times in 2013, Besen transferred the Towers Road development site to his wife for “natural love and affection”, with Danielle controlling 99 of 100 shares in the asset.

The remaining single share is controlled by Besen. Until a sale is made the pair remain “tenants in common”.

They are also selling their expansive Flinders holiday home, Miramar, on the Mornington Peninsula, which was designed by Wood Marsh Architecture, and is expected to fetch about $20m.

Up until recently it appears the family had been living in a Toorak mansion owned by Besen’s sister Naomi Milgrom while the family’s own mansion was being completed.

That home on Heyington Place was recently also put up for sale, with Milgrom master of her own burgeoning landholding on Beaconsfield Parade in Middle Park.

Milgrom owns the Sussan ­retail group, which was previously a family asset, while Besen’s other sister is property developer, Stockland director and Temple and Webster chair Carol Schwartz.

Their fourth sibling is Deborah Dadon, who owns Ubertas Properties with husband Albert.

Financial affairs

As riveting as CBA boss Ian Narev’s wet-lettuce flogging from David Coleman’s Standing Committee on Economics was yesterday afternoon, we couldn’t help but be distracted by the disgorgement of pollies’ latest financial disclosures.

As the newly constituted committee poked and prodded $12.3m-a-year Narev, more interesting was committee members lifting their skirts on their personal banking relationships with the Four Pillars. The ambitious former media exec Member for Banks Coleman has shares in Andrew Thorburn’s NAB, but trusts his savings with a broad church including the Westpac-controlled St George, ANZ, Macquarie and ING.

His Labor deputy Matt Thistlethwaite prefers the industry super funds-controlled ME Bank, as does Labor Member for Charlton Pat Conroy, while the Greens’ Adam Bandt has his mortgage with Westpac’s Bank of Melbourne.

CBA customers and conservative committee members Trevor Evans and Craig Kelly would have enjoyed Narev’s smooth performance, while the newly elected Julia Banks and Matt Keogh both take a scatter gun approach when it comes to their money, with accounts at various financial institutions.

Out of service

Westpac boss Brian Hartzer might consider sending an advancer from his government relations team to our nation’s capital ahead of the chief’s inaugural appearance tomorrow before Coleman’s Economics committee.

Yesterday it was hard to miss the “out of service” Westpac ATM that was directly outside the main committee room where Hartzer’s counterpart Ian Narev from CBA was being grilled.

A courteous sign stuck on the cash machine directed customers to eftpos facilities at The Parliament Shop, a nearby cafe or Ahmed Fahour’s Aussie Post to find ready cash.

That would have gone down a treat with committee members, in particular chair Coleman, deputy chair Matt Thistlethwaite, the Greens’ Adam Bandt and Matt Keogh, who all bank with Hartzer’s Westpac or its diffusion brand St George.

Fingers crossed the hole in the wall’s fixed by the time Hartzer gets there.

Mixed legacy

Meanwhile, as all financial sector eyes were glued to the Canberra action, another veteran of a scandal-plagued institution slipped quietly away.

IOOF chairman Roger Sexton, who has served on the former Oddfellows board for 15 years, announced his exit from the company yesterday, giving him more time to focus on his other listed effort, the grandly named but loss-making agribusiness Beston Global Food Company.

IOOF’s release was shyly titled “Changes to the IOOF board” — no trumpeting Sexton’s numerous achievements there.

These include presiding over a 20 per cent share price plunge in June last year, when Greg Medcraft’s ASIC announced an investigation after reports of insider trading, front-running, cheating on compliance exams and other problems at the company.

While the ASIC investigation wound down in July this year, IOOF’s share price has yet to recover.

Instead incoming chairman George Venardos lauded Sexton’s “distinguished record” as a director, saying his predecessor “presided over our highly successful and accretive acquisition strategy and profit growth as well as the evolution of the businesses”.

It’s almost as if the scandal never happened.

Spinmeister moves in

Woolworth’s new head of corporate affairs Jennifer James kicked off the first day of her career at Bella Vista yesterday deep in meetings.

That meant she was too tied up to talk to the press.

So James, who is fresh from Hong Kong and the service of PepsiCo, enlisted the help of the good folk at public relations consultancy John Connolly & Partners to call back media on her behalf.

Word is James, who reports to corporate counsel Richard Dammery and not boss Brad Banducci, has relocated to Sydney without her family, who will follow from the Asian hub in the new year.

That will give James, who is the daughter of former Liberal pollie Julian Beale and the sister of Bill Shorten’s ex-wife Debbie Beale, plenty of time to settle into her predecessor Peter McConnell’s bunker on level 2 of the north wing.

Apparently James has scored one of just six or so offices on the floor.