Mining Heir Michael Wright’s ‘Secret’ Daughter Olivia Mead Awarded $25M After Challenging Will
The late Michael Wright’s “secret” daughter has been awarded $25 million in court after challenging the mining billionaire’s will. Olivia Jacqueline Mead, 19, will be paid the lump sum from Wright’s estate but she has to give up the $3 million trust fund he set up for her.
The university student originally wanted $12 million, telling the court that she needed $20 million worth of items that she may require in her life. She was left with a trust fund she could touch when she turned 30, but had fought for a bigger share of Wright’s fortune, saying she had been left without adequate provision for her proper “maintenance, support education or advancement in life” from the estate.
Her demands included $800 per week for food, $150 per week for fine wine, $300 for utilities weekly, $300 for clothing per week, $10,000 annually for handbags and other fashion accessories, $5,000 a year for her shoes, $250,000 for a bass guitar and $2.5 million for a Perth mansion.
The West Australian Supreme Court ruled in her favour on Thursday, with Master Craig Sanderson agreeing that she should be provided more. He said that while $3 million could be regarded as adequate, considering the size of Wright’s estate, he was not satisfied with that amount for Mead.
However, he also believed that some items on Mead’s demands were “fanciful,” such as the $250,000 guitar. He awarded $25 million to Mead on the condition that she forfeits any right or interest to her trust fund. She is expected to be paid within 60 days.
The residuary of the estate would be shouldered by Wright’s other daughters, Leonie Baldock and Alexandra Burt. Master Sanderson acknowledged that the sisters would get $10 million less each and incur about $1 million in costs, but “They can rest easy in the knowledge their half-sister will be financially secure for the rest of her life.”
The court found that Baldock and Burt were entitled to $400 million each. If he had to determine an amount for Mead based on fairness, Sanderson said it would be likely all four of Wright’s children would receive $200 million each. Wright also has a son, Myles, from his wife Jennifer Turner, also the mother of Baldock and Burt. He was not a party to the proceedings.
Wright, the son of Peter Wright who was Lang Hancock’s business partner, died from cancer in 2012 at the age of 74. His estate is estimated to be worth over $1 billion.