Robert Holmes à Court
Robert Holmes à Court | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael Robert Hamilton Holmes à Court 27 July 1937 Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa |
| Died | 2 September 1990 (aged 53) Keysbrook, Western Australia, Australia |
| Education | University of Auckland Massey Agricultural College (BAgrSci) University of Western Australia (LLB) |
| Occupations | 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 | |
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. He died suddenly of heart failure in 1990 at the age of 53.
A great-great-grandson of William à Court-Holmes, 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. Holmes à Court's horse Black Knight won the 1984 Melbourne Cup.
Holmes à Court died intestate, and his estate was to be divided one-third for his widow Janet, and the remainder equally among their four children, who include Peter, Paul and Simon.