Michael Wright (1937–2012) was an Australian heir and businessman.
Principally a
grazier, on the death of his father Wright squired a share in Wright Prospecting that had significant
iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...
tenements in
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. He was a
teetotaller
Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...
who developed an interest in
viticulture
Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...
and owned a winery.
Early life
His grandfather,
Canon McClemans, founded
Christ Church Grammar School
Christ Church Grammar School is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Single-sex school, single-sex Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primary and Secondary school#Australia, se ...
.
His father,
Peter Wright, co-founded
Hancock Prospecting
Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd is an Australian-owned mining and agricultural business run by Executive Chairwoman Gina Rinehart and CEO Garry Korte. At various stages of its trading history, the company has been known as Hancock Prospecting Ltd ...
and Wright Prospecting with the late
Lang Hancock
Langley Frederick George "Lang" Hancock (10 June 1909 27 March 1992) was an Australian iron ore magnate from Western Australia who maintained a high profile in the spheres of business and politics. Famous initially for discovering the world's ...
.
Wright's elder adopted
sister is
Angela Bennett;
and his younger brother is Julian Wright.
Wright was born in Western Australia and attended Christ Church Grammar School.
Career
He started his career in the family concern, at Wright Prospecting.
In 1991, he bought the
Voyager Estate winery in
Margaret River, Western Australia
Margaret River is a large town in the South West (Western Australia), South West of Western Australia, located in the valley of the eponymous Margaret River, south of Perth, the state capital. Its Local Government Areas of Western Australia, Lo ...
, despite being a teetotaller.
He sat on the Board of Governors at the
University of Notre Dame Australia
The University of Notre Dame Australia (known simply as Notre Dame; ; French language, French for 'Mary, mother of Jesus, Our Lady') is a Private university, private Catholic university with campuses in Perth, Sydney and Broome, Western Austr ...
in
Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
.
After his father's sudden death in 1985, he inherited a $900 million fortune with his sister.
Wright's brother, Julian Wright, was estranged from the family after he claimed that Angela Bennett and Michael duped him over a financial separation agreement for his portion of Wright Prospecting, signed in 1987. Julian Wright commenced legal proceedings in the
WA Supreme Court against his siblings. His case was dismissed; he sought leave to
appeal
In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...
to the
High Court that was rejected, and he was ordered to pay his sibling's legal fees.
After a twelve-year legal battle,
in 2010, Wright and Bennett received 1 billion from
Gina Rinehart
Georgina Hope Rinehart (, born 9 February 1954) is an Australian heiress, billionaire mining magnate and businesswoman. She is the executive chairwoman of Hancock Prospecting, a privately owned mineral exploration and extraction company foun ...
after the latter was forced to give up twenty-five per cent in the
Rhodes Ridges iron ore mine, located west of
Newman
Newman is a surname of Germanic Anglo-Saxon origins. Newman is the modern English form of the name used in Great Britain and among people of British ancestry around the world (as is 'Numan'), while Neumann (with variant spellings) is used in Ger ...
in the
Pilbara
The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...
.
Following Michael Wright's death in 2012, his daughters, Leonie Baldock and Alexadra Burt, sold their full 25 per cent interest in Rhodes Ridges and share 3.4 billion in 2025.
Wright's sister, Bennett, sold a fifteen per stake in the Rhodes Ridges iron ore deposit to
Mitsui & Co
is a Japanese general trading company (Sogo shosha, ''sogo shosha'') and a core member of the Mitsui, Mitsui Group. For much of the post-war period, Mitsui & Co. has been among the largest of the five great ''sogo shosha'' (Mitsui, Mitsubishi Co ...
for 2 billion; and retained a ten per cent interest in the project which is not expected to produce first ore before 2030.
Prior to his death, Wright and Bennett owned fifteen per cent of
Hamersley Iron shares from the
Rio Tinto Group
Rio Tinto Group is a British-Australian multinational company that is the world's second largest metals and mining corporation (behind BHP). It was founded in 1873 when a group of investors purchased a mine complex on the Río Tinto, in Hu ...
; Rinehart owns the other fifty per cent.
Wright's interests passed to his daughters, upon his death.
In September 2012, Bennett and Wright's daughters sued Rinehart to recover fifty per cent of 4, 5 and 6 tenements of the
Hope Downs mine
The Hope Downs mine is an iron ore mining complex located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It comprises four large open-pit mines (Hope 1 North, Hope 1 South, Hope 4 and Baby Hope). The mines are co-owned by the Hancock Group and ...
, named after Rinehart's mother,
Hope Hancock.
The first hearing was held in 2023.
Personal life
Wright's second wife was Jennifer Turner who was the mother to Alexandra Burt, Leonie Baldock, and Myles Wright. He and Turner subsequently divorced and Turner died in 2017. Wright had a relationship out of wedlock with Elizabeth Mead and they conceived a daughter, Olivia Jacqueline, who was raised by Mead and her partner, with Wright paying some child support. Wright's fourth relationship was with Mary Ann Wright who he met in a
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
bar. They married and subsequently divorced, without bearing children.
In his will, Wright left the overwhelming majority of his $1.2$1.5 billion estate equally to Burt and Baldock, and made provisions for Mary Ann Wright, Olivia Mead, and Myles Wright, the latter who was gifted $20 million. Mary Ann Wright sued Burt and Baldock and the executor of his estate. The matter was settled out of court on undisclosed terms. The terms of Wright's will stipulated that Olivia Mead was bequeathed $3 million, which was less than 0.5 per cent of Wright’s fortune at the time of his death. Mead could only access the funds when she was aged 30 years and would lose the money if she ever joined a non-traditional church, was convicted of drink-driving, and other arcane conditions. Consequently, Mead sued Burt and Baldock and the executor claiming that she was entitled to a significant house, luxury items, and cash. The matter was contested in court and Mead was awarded an Australian record sum of $25 million, later reduced to $6.1 million on appeal. Mead received $3 million at the time of the 2015 judgement; with the remaining $3.1 million set aside in a trust fund until she reaches the age of 30 years.
Prior to his death, Wright's net worth
Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, so net w ...
was aggregated with that of his sister's. 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 ...
'' 2025 Rich List assessed the net worth of two of his daughters, Burt and Baldock, at 7.18 billion.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Michael
1937 births
2012 deaths
Australian businesspeople
Australian billionaires
Businesspeople from Western Australia