The three children of Andrew and Nicola Forrest will miss out on most of their parents’ staggering $32 billion fortune, which will instead go mostly to charity.
The couple, who are Australia’s richest couple and have been married for over 30 years, issued a statement on Wednesday night revealing that they had separated and will now be living apart.
“Our friendship and commitment to our family remains strong,” the couple said in a joint statement to The Australian Financial Review.
Forrest, known by her nickname ‘Twiggy’, was ranked the second richest person in Australia this year, behind rival mining magnate Gina Rinehart.
The couple’s wealth has largely been accumulated through their 36 percent stake in iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group, which they founded in 2003 and is now the eighth-largest company on the ASX by market capitalization.
But the couple have been very vocal about not leaving their billions for their children, Grace, Sophia and Sydney, to inherit.
Andrew and Nicola Forrest have been vocal about not leaving their billion-dollar fortune to their three children, Grace, Sophia and Sydney.
Grace Forrest, the eldest daughter, is the founder of the international human rights group Walk Free, which is dedicated to eradicating modern slavery.
Most of his wealth will go to support indigenous Australians, education reform and scientific research.
The Forrests have also donated the equivalent of nearly $9 billion to the Minderoo Foundation, which they created in 2001.
In April last year, Ms Forrest said she and her husband would give away their fortune because they don’t want their children to be “burdened” by a handout.
“We live in a house and I have a great life, but the things that are most important in life, money can’t buy,” he told ABC’s Australian Story.
“Children don’t benefit from thinking they’re going to inherit a lot of money.”
Her husband agreed, saying the decision to “give away everything” except personal things and belongings was “easy.”
‘You know, let’s not die rich. What’s the point of that?’ he said.
His children, all in their 20s, are apparently on the same page and have carved out successful careers of their own.
Grace Forrest, the eldest daughter, is the founder of the international human rights group Walk Free, which is dedicated to eradicating modern slavery.
The idea came about a decade ago after Grace spent time in a rescue home in Nepal for children who had been subjected to various forms of exploitation.
She is also a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Australia.
Her Instagram, where she has 21,000 followers, is replete with images of Grace on modern slavery news channels and her foundation’s annual Modern Slavery Index report.
He also shared a snapshot of her with former US President Barack Obama and Anthony Albanese in another photo.
Sophia Forrest is an actress who starred with Russell Crowe in The Water Diviner, Teresa Palmer in Ride Like A Girl, and Jason Momoa in Aquaman.
He has also sat down with Hollywood actress Kate Walsh to discuss the fashion industry’s impact on slavery, and former Australian of the Year Grace Tame, where they discussed issues around consent.
Grace is also a director of the Minderoo Foundation and was crowned the 2021 Western Australian Young Australian of the Year.
His sister Sophia is an actress who starred with Russell Crowe in The Water Diviner, Teresa Palmer in Ride Like A Girl, and Jason Momoa in Aquaman.
He has also had roles in Home and Away, Love Child, Bali 2002, and Barons.
Rumors flew in 2018 that Sophia and Crowe may have been dating after they were spotted watching an NRL match together.
Crowe quickly shut down the idea and Sophia is now engaged to his girlfriend Zara Zoe.
In 2017, Sophia revealed that she had planned to make money herself.
“Inheritance has never really made sense to me,” he told Sunday Life magazine at the time.
“You see him tear families apart and it baffles me. You have no right to that money, you haven’t earned it, you haven’t worked for it, I don’t see why you think it should be yours.
So we all agreed to give it all away. It’s a relief to know it’s not my problem. It goes to better things. I don’t need it. I’m going to work and manage by myself.
In 2017, Sophia revealed that she had planned to make money herself, saying the inheritance “never made sense to me”.
Sophia reportedly bought a two-story penthouse in Waterloo, in Sydney’s inner city, for $1.8 million in 2021.
In the photo, the forest of Sydney
The Forrests’ son, Sydney, prefers to lie low in comparison to his parents and sisters, and little is known about the career he has taken.
Mrs Forrest has also spoken about the loss of their daughter Matilda, who was stillborn, in 1988.
An autopsy commissioned by the family found that there was nothing wrong and that their daughter, although stillborn, was a “beautiful and perfect child”.
She said the loss of Matilda “torn our family apart.”
Meanwhile, the Forrests have insisted that their separation will have no impact on the strategic direction of their mining empire or their philanthropic ventures.
They jointly oversee their private investment arm, Tattarang, and also co-founded and continue to co-chair their philanthropic venture Minderoo Foundation, which works to address a range of issues from modern day slavery to plastic pollution.
“There is no impact on the operations, control or direction of Fortescue, Minderoo or Tattarang,” their statement added.
It had become clear to many that something was up after the couple had spent long periods apart in recent years.
Pictured: Andrew and Nicola Forrest with their daughters Grace and Sophia
Suspicions were further raised by a recent spate of large share transfers between different companies within his empire.
The revelation of their split came after the AFR approached the couple about a transaction last month that moved more than $1.1 billion worth of Fortescue stock to a new company called Coaxial Ventures, which is wholly owned by Ms. .Forrest.
That transaction came shortly after Forrest gave his wife half of his shareholding in Tattarang.
Mr. and Mrs. Forrest have equal stakes in Tattarang and he remains CEO of Fortescue.
Since the pandemic, the couple have spent long periods apart. Mr Forrest was in London this week meeting US President Joe Biden, while Ms Forrest is also reportedly abroad.
It is understood that they have no divorce plans.
