Robert Holmes à Court
Australian businessman / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Michael Robert Hamilton Holmes à Court (27 July 1937 – 2 September 1990) was a South African-born Australian businessman who became Australia's first billionaire, before dying suddenly of heart failure in 1990 at the age of 53.
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Robert Holmes à Court | |
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Born | Michael Robert Hamilton Holmes à Court (1937-07-27)27 July 1937 Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa |
Died | 2 September 1990(1990-09-02) (aged 53) Keysbrook, Western Australia, Australia |
Nationality | Australian |
Education | University of Auckland Massey Agricultural College (BAgrSci) University of Western Australia (LLB) |
Occupation(s) | Lawyer, businessman |
Years active | 1968–1990 |
Known for | Australia's first billionaire |
Spouse | |
Children | 4, including Peter Holmes à Court, Paul Holmes à Court, and Simon Holmes à Court |
Notes | |
A great-great-grandson of William Holmes à Court, 2nd Baron Heytesbury, and a grand-nephew of William Frederick Holmes à Court, 3rd Baron Heytesbury, Holmes à Court was one of the world's most feared corporate raiders through the 1980s, having increased his properties single-handedly from virtually nothing to a diversified resources and media group with an estimated value immediately before the 1987 stock market crash of about A$2 billion. Shareholders in the company enjoyed enormous investment growth. During 1984 Robert Holmes à Court's horse Black Knight won the Melbourne Cup with a time of 3 minutes 18.19 seconds.
Holmes à Court died intestate, and his estate was to be divided one-third for his widow Janet (née Ranford), and the remainder equally among their four children, who include Peter, Paul, and Simon.