WiseTech founder Richard White gives himself $442m Xmas gift

Tech billionaire Richard White has given himself a nice little Christmas present after a tough year by offloading a stake in his flagship WiseTech Global.

Richard White’s stake in WiseTech now stands at 36.3 per cent.

Tech billionaire Richard White has given himself a nice little Christmas present after offloading a $442m stake in his flagship WiseTech Global.

Mr White, who stepped down as a director and chief executive of WiseTech in October following a string of allegations about his personal life, sold 3,564,742 shares in on-market transactions between October 2 and December 20. Based on WiseTech’s closing share price of $124.01 on Christmas Eve, the sale was worth about $442m.

Mr White’s stake in WiseTech now stands at 36.3 per cent compared to 37.7 per cent before the sale. That makes his stake in the logistical software firm he founded three decades ago still worth more than $15bn.

WiseTech’s shares dived more than 20 per cent in October, following allegations about Mr White, which involved him having affairs with women and buying homes for some of them. He has also resigned from the board of the Tech Council of Australia, a position he took up in June. WiseTech shares have still climbed 64 per cent over the past year

“It has been a challenging time for me personally, my family and close friends, and for the company that I have built and truly love,” Mr White said in a statement in October.

“I want to assure all those who have supported WiseTech, as customers, colleagues and shareholders, that I remain absolutely committed to seeing this incredible organisation continue to thrive and grow in the coming years.”

Mr White’s disposal follows a series of other share sales by board members over the past two months. WiseTech director Charles Gibbon this month sold more than 1.5 million shares in the company, reaping almost $200m.

Mr Gibbon, a WiseTech shareholder since 2005, sold 8.8 per cent of his total stake, saying he needed to “undertake necessary personal estate planning measures”. He said it was the first time he had sold WiseTech shares since 2019.

Australian Shareholders Association chief executive Rachel Waterhouse said the association would seek more details from WiseTech on the sale.

In November, WiseTech co-founder and director Maree Isaacs sold her stake to Mr White, as the company was hit from the fallout of a raft of allegations, including that he exchanged business advice for sex. Ms Isaacs’ sale of her 10.2 million shares in the $41.8bn company was disclosed in an ASX filing

She owned WiseTech shares via her 8 per cent stake in RealWise Holdings, which controls about 37.4 per cent of WiseTech. Mr White owns the other 92 per cent of RealWise Holdings.

Ms Isaacs said the sale would allow her to “access the value and liquidity of her shares”, and she “remains committed to WiseTech and its future”.

“I am extremely grateful to Richard for his work and leadership in creating WiseTech. After 30 years of helping to build WiseTech, I was keen to start to unlock and realise some of the value in the WiseTech shares I hold through RealWise Holdings Pty Limited,” she said.

Originally published as WiseTech founder Richard White gives himself $442m Xmas gift