Australia’s richest couple Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest and his wife Nicola – whose mining fortune is worth $32billion – announce they are separating after 31 years of marriage
- Andrew Forrest and wife Nicola announce they will ‘live apart’
- Pair have net worth of $32bn and pledge to give half to charity
- Claim their separation will not affect mining empire they control
Mining magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest and his wife of more than 31 years Nicola Forrest have officially announced they are living ‘separate’ lives, it has been reported.
The billionaire couple, who have been married for 31 years and have a net worth of $32 billion, said they will now be living apart – but it insist it won’t affect the direction their mining empire or philanthropic interests.
‘After 31 years of marriage, we have made the decision to live apart. Our friendship and commitment to our family remains strong,’ said the couple in a joint statement to The Australian Financial Review.
Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest and Nicola Forrest (pictured), who have been married for 31 years and have a net worth of $32 billion, said they will now be living apart
The billionaire couple insist their separation will have no impact on the the strategic direction of their mining empire or their philanthropic ventures
Their fortune has largely been amassed through their 36 per cent stake in iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group, which they founded in 2003.
They jointly oversee their private investment arm, Tattarang and they also co-founded, and continue to co-chair, their philanthropic venture Minderoo Foundation, which now works to tackle a range of issues from modern slavery to plastic pollution.
The couple insist their separation will have no impact on the the strategic direction of their mining empire or their philanthropic ventures.
‘There is no impact on the operations, control or direction of Fortescue, Minderoo or Tattarang,’ their statement added.
The revelation of their separation came after the AFR approached the pair about a transaction last month that moved more than $1.1 billion worth of Fortescue shares into a new company called Coaxial Ventures, which is wholly owned by Mrs Forrest.
The couple have three adult children – Grace, Sophia and Sydney – and it is understood they have no plans to divorce.
They pledged to give away the ‘vast majority’ of their fortune in their lifetimes and have previously said they will give little to their children.
In April last year, Mrs Forrest said she and Andrew would give away their fortune because they don’t want their three children, daugthers Grace and Sophia, and son Sydney to be ‘burdened’ by a handout.
‘Children don’t benefit from thinking they’re going to inherit a huge amount of money,’ she said earlier this year.
Last month, it was revealed Mr Forrest had donated $5billion worth of shares in his mining company to his charity, the Minderoo Foundation.
Forrest, the second-richest person in Australia behind mining heiress Gina Rinehart, and his wife Nicola donated 220 million shares in Fortescue Metals Group.
The donation is about one-fifth of their stake in the company Forrest founded in 2003 and of which he is now executive chairman.
‘As our world faces enormous challenges, we have elected to continue to use our material wealth to help humanity and the environment meet these existential risks,’ he told Nine newspapers.
‘Accumulating wealth should only be a small part of a person. Their contribution to their family and society is way more important.
‘If you happen to be good at accumulating wealth, then I believe in using that skill for the greater good.’