Billionaire Richard White and Linda Rogan court case abandoned
The founder and CEO of WiseTech had taken bankruptcy action against his former lover, but the case has been discontinued in the Federal Court.
Billionaire Richard White and his ex-lover Linda Rogan have abandoned their legal fight.
A spokesman for Mr White said the pair had settled their dispute.
“Mr White and Ms Rogan have settled the Federal Court proceeding which related to a commercial dispute,” he said in a statement.
“Ms Rogan has withdrawn all her allegations, and the parties are not pursuing any further court action.
“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.”
It came after Ms Rogan filed a notice of discontinuance with the court late on Monday.
Mr White had taken action to bankrupt Ms Rogan, who had been fighting back in court. The case, and subsequent revelations about Mr White, has caused his WiseTech Global’s share price to plunge in the past two weeks.
The controversies swirling around Mr White all trace back to his decision to try to bankrupt Ms Rogan over a $91,000 sum she spent on luxury furniture at a Sydney mansion Mr White allegedly bought for her in 2022 before their affair was discovered by his now wife Zena Nasser.
Ms Rogan last year took action to garnish the amount from Mr White’s Westpac bank account, and the billionaire – whose estimated fortune is now more than $10bn – launched the bankruptcy action in August.
News of the settlement came after a brief hearing at the Federal Court last week, when lawyers for Mr White said they hoped for a “quick trial” with the matter set down for a one-day hearing in February. That has now been abandoned.
A spokesperson for Ms Rogan has been contacted for comment.
The WiseTech billionaire’s private life became public after Ms Rogan fought back against his attempt to bankrupt her.
As well, The Australian revealed a second woman — psychologist Jenna Riches — accused Mr White of offering business advice in exchange for sex.
Ms Riches said her first contact with Mr White was in December last year, after she messaged him on LinkedIn hoping for suggestions on how to expand her private psychology practice.
The 38-year-old revealed Mr White suggested she read at least 10 business books, including the Incerto series by Nassim Taleb and shared other entrepreneurial advice on dozens of messages and FaceTime discussions.
But after he discovered she was single, Ms Riches alleged the messages changed.
“He told me he is attracted to intellect,” she said.
“He said his porn is in his mind and he is attracted to intellect.
“He sent me a link around being sapiosexual, which is (about) sexual attraction with intelligent people,” she said.
And not only did Mr White purchase a mansion for Ms Rogan in 2022, The Australian also revealed he bought a house for another businesswoman he was allegedly in a relationship with, Marcia Kensell, in 2018 in Sydney’s Lane Cove.
A falling-out between the pair led to her taking legal action, and it’s understood they have now settled confidentially.
News of Mr White’s settlement with Ms Rogan came after the beauty entrepreneur alleged in court documents that Mr White reneged on a promise $2m to invest in her wellness business Bionik located in Sydney’s inner east.
Ms Rogan claimed that business deal was sealed after she agreed to have a sexual relationship with him, while he was also partnered up with his now wife Ms Nasser.
According to Ms Rogan’s affidavits, Mr White said he would invest in her business but only if her existing partners were dumped from the company.
She alleged Mr White agreed to buy them out, but defaulted on the deal and later lost $250,000 after Ms Nasser abruptly ended their affair and told her to stop contact her husband.
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Originally published as Billionaire Richard White and Linda Rogan court case abandoned
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