James Baillieu (born 1968) is an Australian activist investor and writer.

Early life and education

Baillieu was born in 1968 to parents Ian Baillieu, an Australian lawyer, and the art gallery owner Marianne. He is the nephew of former Premier

Ted Baillieu Edward Norman Baillieu (born 31 July 1953) is a former Australian politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2010 to 2013. He was a Victorian Liberal Party, Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2014, represe ...

and journalist, activist

Kate Baillieu Katharine Jean Baillieu (born 17 January 1946) is an Australian former journalist. Early career Baillieu worked as a journalist and later as a personal assistant to Kerry Packer. In 1977, Baillieu was awarded the Douglas Wilkie Medal by the An ...

and also Olympian

Will Baillieu Will Baillieu (born 15 August 1951) is an Australian rower. He competed in the men's coxed four event at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He is a brother of former Premier of Victoria, Ted Baillieu. Baillieu was a crew member of 1983 America's Cup w ...

. Baillieu was educated at

Melbourne Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior s ...

. He graduated from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

where he received a BA and LLB (First Class Honours).

Career

Baillieu practiced law at Mallesons Stephen Jacques in the early 1990s. He then joined management consultants

McKinsey & Co McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinsey ...

for seven years until 2001. He then became an early investor and senior vice president of Aconex which was acquired by

Oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...

for A$1.6 billion in December 2017. From November 2017 to February 2019, Baillieu was

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of ASX-listed BidEnergy and also its largest shareholder. BidEnergy was the top performing stock on the ASX in 2018. However, the Board removed Baillieu as chairman, causing him to sell his shares and initiate a legal action that was settled out of court. Baillieu has been a protagonist in a number of high profile business conflicts. He is described by the ''

Australian Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...

'' as "seriously combative”. He is described by ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' as "the Baillieu family's chief spear thrower". He is described by ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'' as taking a stand as an activist investor who “targets the good fight.” Baillieu is an author for ''

Crikey Crikey is an Australian online news outlet founded in 1999. It consists of a website and email newsletter available to subscribers. History Crikey was founded by the activist shareholder Stephen Mayne, a journalist and former staffer of the ...

'' and ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' and a contributor to

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

and

Ukraine

Baillieu has been an advocate of more aid to Ukraine and criticized the Australian Government’s response as inadequate. First travelling to Ukraine in July 2022, he has been there multiple times during the war. In July 2024 he wrote an op-ed from the front in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

and

Kupiansk Kupiansk or Kupyansk (, ; , ) is a city in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kupiansk Raion. It is also an important railroad junction for the oblast. Kupiansk hosts the administration of Kupiansk urban hromada, ...

Personal life

Baillieu lives in Melbourne and is married to Josephine. His son Atlas was the Australian Junior Chess Champion. In December 2011, Baillieu and his wife hosted

Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark Mary (born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson; 5 February 1972) is List of Danish royal consorts, Queen of Denmark as the wife of King Frederik X. Mary met Frederik (then Crown Prince of Denmark) while attending the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Wedd ...

and

Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark may refer to: * Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark (1753–1805), heir presumptive from 1766 to 1768 *Frederick IV of Denmark (1671–1730), King of Denmark and Norway, Crown Prince from 1671 to 1699 *Frederic ...

as guests for a week in a secret visit to their Mornington Peninsula home. In April 2025 he and his wife Josephine hosted a writer’s talk invitation only evening at their home in

Sorrento Sorrento ( , ; ; ) is a City status in Italy, city and overlooking the Gulf of Naples, Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the southern terminus of a main branch o ...

including guest speakers Joe Aston and

Josh Frydenberg Joshua Anthony Frydenberg (; born 17 July 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He also served as a member of parliament (MP) for the divisi ...

. The event attracted a media storm when it was criticized by Sorrento Writers Festival director Corrie Perkins who was not invited. To which Baillieu responded “Sorrento is not your town” and “you’re only a visitor.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baillieu, James 1968 births Australian billionaires Living people 20th-century Australian lawyers University of Melbourne alumni People educated at Melbourne Grammar School