Nicola Forrest AO (néeMaurice; born in 1960 or 1961) is an Australian philanthropist. She co-founded the philanthropic Minderoo Foundation and is co-owner of investment company Tattarang with Andrew Forrest.
Life and career
Forrest was born Nicola Maurice in 1960 or 1961. Her parents were farmer Tony Maurice and artist Brooke Maurice.[1][2] She has two older sisters and a younger brother.[3] Forrest grew up on a farm in Spicers Creek, between Mudgee and Dubbo in central western New South Wales.[4] Her family raised sheep and cattle and grew wheat. She went to a one-room, one-teacher primary school.[2] While her sisters were sent to boarding school, Forrest's parent could not afford to do the same for her so she went to high school in Wellington. The family later moved and Forrest attended Frensham School from Year 10.[4]
Forrest went to university at Canberra College of Advanced Education and graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts in secretarial studies, majoring in economics.[2][4] She subsequently worked in publishing and stockbroking in Sydney, alternating between working and travelling. She also worked as a cook for a family in Yorkshire and had stints as a private cook for Susan Renouf and as a private secretary to Mary Fairfax. In the late 1980s, Forrest was a cook in a pub in Kynuna and later had a job in Europe with the United Nations.[2]
Forrest and her husband made The Giving Pledge in 2013, promising to give away at least half of their wealth to charity.[8] In 2017, they donated $400 million to the Minderoo Foundation followed by another $520 million in 2020.[9] In 2023, they donated $5 billion worth of Fortescue shares to the foundation, the largest single charitable donation in Australian history.[10] In October 2024, the Forrests stepped down as co-chairs of the Minderoo Foundation but retained their board seats.[11]
Personal life
Nicola met Andrew Forrest in 1988 at his mother's housewarming party and they got married in 1991.[2] They have four children, including Sophia.[4][12] Their third daughter was stillborn in 1998.[2] In July 2023, Nicola and Andrew announced their separation after 31 years of marriage.[13]
In 2019, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the general division as part of the Queen's Birthday 2019 Honours recognition for her "distinguished service to the community through philanthropic support for education and the arts, to business and to the community".[15]