About Robert Holmes à Court
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. Also Bond Corporation announced a record $980m loss and Elders IXL followed with an announcement of a $1.3 billion loss. In 1973, Holmes à Court's AWM acquired Bell Brothers, a well-known West Australian transport and contracting group, for $9.6 million, through a reverse takeover.
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