Robert Holmes a Court; Australian Millionaire Called ‘Great Acquirer’

Australian millionaire Robert Holmes a Court, once one of the country’s richest men, died early Sunday, a family spokesman said.

Holmes a Court, 53, suffered a heart attack in bed at his Heytesbury stud farm near Perth in Western Australia, spokesman Tim Treadgold told Reuters.

He was taken to the Armadale Hospital in Perth but was dead on arrival, Treadgold said.

“It was totally unexpected. As far as I know there had been no indications he had heart trouble, but I’m not his doctor,” Treadgold said.

The South African-born Holmes a Court had begun rebuilding his private empire, largely through acquisition of rural properties in Australia, after losing $830 million of his corporate wealth in the October, 1987, stock market crash.

Dubbed “the great acquirer” with a reputation as a shrewd corporate raider during the 1980s share market boom, Holmes a Court amassed a fortune valued at $1 billion, according to a list of Australia’s richest people compiled by Business Review Weekly.

Through his Bell Group of companies he built up strategic stakes in companies around the world, including BHP, Australia’s biggest company. His personal investments included art collections and thoroughbred horse studs.

After losing a fortune in the 1987 crash he quit as chairman of Bell and sold the companies to another Perth entrepreneur, Alan Bond.

Holmes a Court is survived by his wife, Janet, three sons and one daughter.