Australian tech billionaire quits after sex life allegations

Richard White, the billionaire tech pioneer, has resigned as chief of WiseTech Global in Australia after weeks of lurid allegations wiped billions from the market capitalisation of the company he founded 30 years ago.
The departure of White, 69, a tech entrepreneur who started his career repairing guitars for the band AC/DC, followed an investigation by the Australian newspapers the Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age which alleged that he purchased multimillion-dollar houses for a string of women he had been in secret relationships with.
He had also been accused by an outgoing director of intimidation, bullying and overseeing poor corporate governance.
WiseTech, a logistics software group, said that White would take a brief break before taking up a “full-time, long-term consulting role” for which he would be paid the same A$1 million (£512,000) annual salary that he had received as chief executive.
White is one of Australia’s richest men with a fortune of A$11.63 billion, according to the latest Financial Review Rich List. He is also regarded as a leader of the country’s tech industry and has mentored other startups.
The newspaper investigation revealed that White, who is married, gave, or allegedly promised to give, multimillion-dollar houses to women with whom he had a sexual relationship. One of those homes, a waterfront mansion in Melbourne, was transferred to Christine Kontos, a WiseTech Global employee, last year.
A third property allegedly purchased for Linda Rogan, a Sydney wellness entrepreneur, has been at the centre of a salacious Sydney court hearing.
Rogan, whom White met through his present wife, alleged that White expected sex in exchange for an investment in her company. Late on Monday, White and Rogan settled their legal dispute. A spokesman for White told The Australian that Rogan had “withdrawn all her allegations”.
The Financial Review reported that those familiar with the negotiations indicated that Rogan would receive millions of dollars as part of the settlement.
WiseTech shares slumped below $100 for the first time in months on Thursday. The slide has wiped A$8 billion from the value of the company, which is still more than one third owned by White.
In a statement on Thursday White said it had been “a challenging time for me personally, my family and close friends, and for the company that I have built and truly love”.
The company had previously said that many of the claims about its founder’s conduct were personal issues for him as chief executive and that he had confirmed to the board that he had made the appropriate disclosures.