RAMS founder Kinghorn’s charity cloaked in secrecy

All signs of the John Kinghorn’s foundation appear to have evaporated. Picture: Britta Campion

PM Malcolm Turnbull has outsourced tedious administration of his charitable foundation (Margin Call, yesterday) but fellow richie John Kinghorn seems to have lost track of his altogether.

All signs of the Kinghorn Foundation appear to have evaporated, just like the value of RAMS shares in the days after he listed the home lender in 2007.

With much fanfare, Kinghorn tipped about $300 million of the $650m he reaped from the IPO into the charitable play.

Despite the cloak and dagger, we’re told it has $350m in assets and gifted more than $15m to Aussie charities last year.

Courtesy a $25m donation several years ago, Kinghorn’s name adorns a Sydney cancer centre — something that was controversial when ICAC made corruption findings against him in 2013, although the kerfuffle died after his successful legal bid to quash the criticisms.

Apparently the ever-modest Kinghorn didn’t want his name on the door, but it’s still there — unlike his foundation’s website.

Charities regulator the ACNC is also keeping it off the public register, although secrecy rules meant the watchdog isn’t allowed to tell why.

Those close to Kinghorn weren’t able to shed any light.

One possibility is that the fund is taking advantage of a rule allowing so-called “private ancillary funds” to stay off the register if it might identify an individual donor.

But doesn’t the Kinghorn name gives the game away?

On a high over Downer

The settlement of a shareholder class action brought against Downer EDI over its disastrous Waratah trains project is welcome news for wealthy backers of the lawsuit, which was the brainchild of former Minter Ellison partner Mark Elliott.

The case was funded by BSL Litigation Partners, which accounts filed with ASIC show ran up a $1.3m loss last year as it poured cash into the Downer lawsuit and another action against failed financier Banksia.

If the $8.25m Downer settlement is approved by the Victorian Supreme Court, BSL stands to collect $2.85m, which should ease the squeeze.

In it to win it are the Hill brothers of Globe fame, who know the silk who runs Elliott’s actions, Norman O’Bryan, well. O’Bryan is a former Globe director and remains a top 20 shareholder alongside retail mogul Solomon Lew and fund manager David Williams.

So committed is O’Bryan to Globe that when would-be corporate raider Darren Olney-Fraser asked him to sell his shares in 2013, the Rhodes Scholar scrawled “F. k off you morons” on the transfer form.

O’Bryan’s wife was a BSL shareholder but had to give up her stake by order of the Victorian Supreme Court due to a perceived conflict of interest.

Businessman Andrew Kroger — the younger brother of Liberal powerbroker Michael — helped set up BSL in early 2014 but was only involved for a couple of months.

Michie on tax panel

It’s not far across town from Melbourne’s historic Treasury building on Spring Street to Jeff’s Shed at South Wharf, but it was a world away yesterday for BHP Billiton’s tax guru, Jane Michie.

Michie and investor relations boss Tony Cudmore were rabbits in headlights last year as Sam Dastyari’s Senate Committee into tax avoidance took them apart for ducking questions on BHP’s tax affairs.

But the pollie was not in sight yesterday as Michie sat on a tax reform panel at the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ Governance Summit.

It was safer ground, with Michie banging on about cutting corporate tax, cheered by KPMG tax guru Grant Wardell-Johnson and former Victorian Premier John Brumby.

Watching on from the audience was Macquarie Group chair Kevin McCann.

Also spotted among the throng were one of McCann’s Macquarie directors, Patricia Cross, AMP chairman Simon McKeon, Echo Entertainment chair John O’Neill, Broadspectrum chair Diane Smith Gander and Wesfarmers director Charles Macek.

Notably the afternoon session featuring Lachlan Murdoch’s right-hand woman and the latest recruit to Gordon Cairns’ Woolies board, Siobhan McKenna, and chair of infant formula company Bellamy’s, Rob Woolley, was closed to the fourth estate.

A pity as Margin Call was hoping to hear AICD boss John Brogden reveal all about his stint on the board of failed iSelect health fund spin-off NIA, which is in wind-up after trashing $34m invested by the likes of top criminal silk Robert Richter and Mao’s Last DancerLi Cunxin.

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