BILLIONAIRES – AUSTRALIA

Packer’s Crown payday set for June 24

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 16-Jun-22

The Federal Court has approved the $8.9bn acquisition of Crown Resorts by private equity firm Blackstone. Crown’s major shareholder James Packer will receive about $3.3bn for his stake in the casinos group. The sale of Crown signals the end of a turbulent period for Packer, who was forced to abandon a deal to sell a large stake in Crown to Melco Resorts in 2019. Scrutiny of that deal subsequently result in a NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority investigation into allegations that Crown had breached anti-money laundering laws, and similar probes in Victoria and Western Australia.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT LIQUOR AND GAMING AUTHORITY

Forrest’s green vows hit $200bn

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 8-Nov-21

Media analysis reveals that Fortescue Future Industries has ‘inked’ agreements for hydrogen and renewable energy projects in over 20 countries over the last 18 months, with FFI being the green energy unit of Fortescue Metals Group. It has been estimated that FMG would need to find $US195 billion to pay for all the projects that its chairman Andrew Forrest has committed FFI to, while it is likely to cost even more than that to achieve FMG’s goal of producing 15 million tonnes of hydrogen a year by 2030.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE FUTURE INDUSTRIES PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Australian Greens to propose 6% wealth tax on billionaires to combat inequality

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 29-Mar-21

The Greens will call for 700 per cent of Australia’s energy needs to be produced from renewable energy sources as part of their ‘Fight for the Future’ policy. The policy also calls for a six per cent wealth tax on billionaires, for public schools, universities and Tafe to be free, and for a jobs and income guarantee. The proposed wealth tax would see mining magnates Gina Rinehart and Andrew Forrest hit with tax increases of $2.2 billion and $586 million respectively, while the Greens will urge voters to elect a minority Labor government and give them the balance of power in both houses of parliament at the next election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Rinehart leads miners to No.1 as tech stars ride COVID-19 wave

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Original article by Michael Bailey, Julie-anne Sprague
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 30-Oct-20

The combined wealth of Australia’s 200 wealthiest individuals and families has risen from $342bn in 2019 to $424bn in 2020. Mining magnate Gina Rinehart has regained the title of Australia’s richest person, with estimated wealth of $28.9; she last topped the ‘Financial Review Rich List’ in 2015. Rinehart is followed by Andrew Forrest ($23bn) and Anthony Pratt ($19.75bn) on the list. Pratt had topped the list in 2019. Atlassian’s co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are ranked 5th and 6th respectively.

CORPORATES
HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VISY INDUSTRIES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC

Up $11bn, Forrest has a profitable pandemic

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 15 : 22-Jul-20

The share price of pure-play iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has more than doubled since March. Its market capitalisation topped $51bn on 21 July, making it one of the 10 biggest companies on the Australian sharemarket. Fortescue’s founder Andrew Forrest is now estimated to have total wealth of about $20bn, with the value of his stake in the company having increased by more than $11bn since the coronavirus-induced sharemarket rout in mid-March. Forrest and his wife are also high-profile philanthropists, having donated more than $2bn to their Minderoo charitable foundation.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, THE MINDEROO FOUNDATION PTY LTD

Native title challenge to Forrest deal

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Original article by Paige Taylor
The Australian – Page: 2 : 14-Jul-20

Billionaire miner and philanthropist Andrew Forrest and his wife Nicola have bid to buy two adjoining cattle stations in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Traditional owners of the Fitzroy also bid for the Jubilee Downs and Quanbun Downs stations, but they bid $25 million, while the Forrests are believed to have bid $30 million. The Yanunijarra Aboriginal Corporation has asked WA Lands Minister Ben Wyatt to intervene in the transfer of the leases of the two stations to the Forrests, and a spokesperson for Wyatt says transfers of pastoral leases are subject to a public interest test if they result in the holder of the lease exceeding 500,000 hectares.

CORPORATES
YANUNIJARRA ABORIGINAL CORPORATION, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF LANDS

All the way with ScoMo on China

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Original article by Ben Packham, Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 1-May-20

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is supporting Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s push for an independent review into the origins of COVID-19. Pompeo says all nations should back Australia’s call for such a review, while he attacked China for threatening economic retaliation against Australia over its review push. Billionaires Andrew Forrest and Kerry Stokes have been criticised by security experts and MPs over their comments that Morrison to back off on his call for a review, with Stokes and Forrest reminded that they should not confuse Australia’s national interest with their own commercial interests.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. DEPT OF STATE, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Waislitz planning a major property investment fund

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 21-May-18

Billionaire investor Alex Waislitz is understood to be planning to launch either a listed property company or an unlisted property fund. Waislitz has established a partnership with Sydney-based Centennial Property Group, and he could possibly use that relationship to assist his foray into property. Waislitz built his wealth on investing on small and medium-sized listed companies, while he is keen to spend more time on his philanthropic fund, the Waislitz Foundation. It is slated to give away $A50 million over 10 years.

CORPORATES
CENTENNIAL PROPERTY GROUP PTY LTD, WAISLITZ FOUNDATION, THORNEY OPPORTUNITIES LIMITED – ASX TOP, THORNEY TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED – ASX TEK, RCG BRANDS PTY LTD, HUB24 LIMITED – ASX HUB, YOJEE LIMITED – ASX YOJ, AFTERPAY TOUCH GROUP LIMITED – ASX APT

Twiggy’s court win backfires on Fortescue

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 6-Sep-17

Andrew Forrest was recently successful in obtaining a ruling from the High Court to prevent two firms from lodging mining applications over his Minderoo cattle station in Western Australia. The ruling caused concern that other mining applications previously made in WA may not be valid, including those made by Fortescue Metals Group, which was founded by Forrest. Records show that Fortescue has made applications for 16 mining leases since the High Court ruled in Forrest’s favour, with some applications appearing to be for existing Fortescue leases.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, YARRI MINING PTY LTD, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES, INDUSTRY REGULATION AND SAFETY, ONSLOW RESOURCES LIMITED

Donations row engulfs Turnbull’s team

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 9-Jun-17

China-born billionaire Chau Chak Wing has rejected claims that he has links to the Chinese Communist Party. Chau, who has been an Australian citizen for 20 years, has hit out after he was named in a television program about overseas donations to Australian political parties. Chau says he has never tried to seek any gain from donations made by himself or his companies to political parties. He notes that both of Australia’s major parties have solicited donations from him, and it has been revealed that one of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s campaign organisers approached Chau for a donation prior to the 2016 federal election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA)