Lessons learnt from mixing business with pleasure

If Richard White had been granted a court suppression order his private life would have stayed private but he didn’t – and the fallout is a lesson for people in positions of power.

Richard White has ended his court action against his alleged former lover. Picture: Aaron Francis

Billionaires don’t like to lose – that’s why they become billionaires.

And WiseTech founder Richard White allegedly told his ex-lover Linda Rogan that “no one will ever win against me in litigation”.

“I have more money, and they always run out of money,” Rogan claimed in court documents that he told her. She added: “I knew from my experiences with Richard that he was severe in his intentions to use his financial resources to outspend any opponent.”

But on Tuesday White and Rogan abandoned their legal dispute. The billionaire said via a spokesman that he wanted 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”.

Pressure was mounting on White, as investors demanded WiseTech’s board investigate sensational claims about his private life. That became very public three weeks ago after he lost a bid for a suppression order to prevent affidavits filed by Rogan being released.

As the claims emerged WiseTech’s share price tumbled, falling almost 15 per cent on Monday, wiping billions of dollars off the company’s market value – and White’s personal fortune via his 34 per cent stake in the logistics software titan.

White had tried to bankrupt Rogan over a $91,000 sum she spent on luxury furniture at a Sydney mansion he allegedly bought for her in 2022, before their affair was discovered by his now wife, Zena Nasser.

Reporting of the case sparked a string of claims about White’s private life. The Australian revealed last week that a second woman, psychologist Jenna Riches, has accused him of allegedly offering business advice in exchange for sex.

It was also revealed he bought a house for another businesswoman he was allegedly in a relationship with, Marcia Kensell, in Sydney’s Lane Cove in 2018. A falling out between the pair led to her taking legal action, but it’s understood they have now settled confidentially.

Rogan’s allegations against White were yet to be tested in court, and now never will.

Yet investors who had lavished praise on him for steering a 3000-plus per cent rise in WiseTech’s share price since it listed in 2016 were growing restless.

Australian Council of Superannuation Investors executive manager stewardship Ed John said the allegations against White were a significant concern.

It underscores the risk in any court action. Had White succeeded in gaining a suppression order, he might have won – or he might have lost. Nobody knows.

But his relationships with Riches and Kensell would have stayed private, and WiseTech’s share price would likely have stayed intact.

The damage was done in the courts, then in the courts of public and corporate opinion – and that’s a lesson for any billionaire.

Originally published as Lessons learnt from mixing business with pleasure