By Michaela Whitbourn
The court fight that lifted the lid on the relationship between a Sydney beauty entrepreneur and one of Australia’s richest men, tech billionaire Richard White, has been abruptly settled outside of court.
Publicly available Federal Court records indicate the case was discontinued late on Monday.
Beauty entrepreneur Linda Rogan and tech billionaire Richard White.Credit: Nick Moir / Oscar Colman
The settlement comes amid sustained scrutiny of the WiseTech co-founder following a joint investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Financial Review involving allegations about his dealings with other female entrepreneurs.
The mastheads have not suggested the allegations against White are true, only that they were made.
Linda Rogan, a former Real Housewives of Sydney contender, had asked the Federal Court to set aside a bankruptcy notice issued to her by White over almost $100,000 she claimed she spent at his behest to furnish a $13.1 million Vaucluse mansion.
Rogan alleged the billionaire purchased the luxury home in 2022 for her to live in with her children, but that the relationship soured and she never moved into the sprawling pad.
Those claims were never tested in court.
Rogan was contacted for comment via her barrister, who declined to comment.
A spokesman for White said: “Given this was a personal matter, Mr White has settled 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.”
As a result of the settlement, Rogan discontinued the proceedings and “the parties are not pursuing any further court action”. The spokesman said the “proceeding … related to a commercial dispute”.
In proceedings filed in the NSW Local Court last year, Rogan alleged she was left “out of pocket” for the home furnishings, including two outdoor love seats costing $2400 each and $6934 for a bed head and base. She sought to recover $91,474.20.
Rogan secured a garnishee order in April last year, allowing her to take $92,123.20 from White’s bank account. However, White later had that order set aside and issued a bankruptcy notice to Rogan this year to recover the money.
Rogan, who owns laser clinics in Double Bay, Cairns and Auckland, had sought to have the bankruptcy notice set aside on the basis it was an abuse of process.
She alleged White had “expected” her to enter into a sexual relationship in return for a promise to invest in another venture, Bionik Wellness, but the offer of financial backing did not materialise and she eventually sold her stake in that business.
“On 17 September [2022], I travelled to New York at the request of Richard. When I arrived at the Park Lane Hotel to check in, I was informed that only 1 suite had been arranged,” she said in an affidavit filed in court.
“I realised that Richard expected me to enter into a sexual relationship with him to fulfil the promise that he would invest in my business. So ... our relationship became sexual.”
The settlement means White will not respond to those allegations in court.
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