Australian billionaire Nicola Forrest makes $360 million gift to her charity

Australian billionaire Nicola Forrest has given about A$520 million, or roughly US$360 million, to her own charity, the Coaxial Foundation, in what is being described as one of the largest single donations by an individual in Australia’s history.

The gift is made up of 25 million shares in iron ore miner Fortescue and A$125 million in cash, contributed through Forrest’s private investment company, Coaxial Ventures, according to law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler, which advised her on the transaction. Because part of the gift is in Fortescue shares, its value will rise and fall with the miner’s stock price.

“I have a great belief in this wonderful country that we live in,” Forrest said in a statement.

Backing women and Indigenous children

The Coaxial Foundation focuses on early childhood development, women and First Nations communities. Alongside the gift, the foundation announced A$67 million in new commitments to programs supporting Indigenous children and women entrepreneurs, Business News reported.

That includes A$50 million for a partnership with venture capital firm Antler to help female founders gain access to capital, networks and support, Women’s Agenda reported. Coaxial chief executive Philippa Watson, a former head of digital bank Ubank, said the partnerships reflect the foundation’s focus on widening opportunities for women and children.

Building her own giving

Forrest set up Coaxial in 2023, the year she separated from her husband, Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, the billionaire founder of Fortescue. The group has two arms: the non-profit Coaxial Foundation and Coaxial Ventures, an investment business that is meant to complement and help pay for her charitable work.

The couple built much of their philanthropy together. They co-founded the Minderoo Foundation, one of Australia’s largest charities, and in 2017 made a donation of A$400 million that was then the biggest single gift in Australian history. They stepped down as co-chairs of Minderoo in October 2024, about a year after their separation, but kept their seats on its board.

Forrest has said she intends to give away most of her fortune in her lifetime. She is worth an estimated A$17.32 billion, about US$12 billion, according to the Australian Financial Review’s 2026 Rich List, which ranks her as Australia’s seventh-richest person. Most of her wealth comes from Fortescue shares she received through her separation from Andrew Forrest. The gift to Coaxial includes half of the shares she received in the initial split.

She grew up on a sheep and cattle farm in central-western New South Wales and has signed the Giving Pledge, the campaign started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett that asks the world’s richest people to give away most of their wealth.