Nicola Forrest
Nicola Forrest 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. Her parents were farmer Tony Maurice and artist Brooke Maurice. She has two older sisters and a younger brother. Forrest grew up on a farm in Spicers Creek, between Mudgee and Dubbo in central western New South Wales. Her family raised sheep and cattle and grew wheat. She went to a one-room, one-teacher primary school. 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.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. 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.
In 1991, Nicola married Andrew Forrest who went on to lead the mining companies Anaconda Nickel and Fortescue Metals Group. Through Fortescue, the Forrests amassed an enormous amount of wealth and they became muiti-billionaires.
Forrest sat on the board of arts event organiser Sculpture by the Sea from 2008 to 2010 and is a life governor of the organisation. She was also a member of the Black Swan State Theatre Company board and its chair from 2018 to 2021. Forrest is a patron of Impact100 WA, which aims to facilitate and increase philanthropy, and Rock Art Australia which funds research and preservation of Aboriginal rock art. She is also a member of the Global Philanthropic Circle and the Prime Minister's Community Business Partnership.
Forrest and her husband made The Giving Pledge in 2013, promising to give away at least half of their wealth to charity. In 2017, they donated $400 million to the Minderoo Foundation followed by another $520 million in 2020. In 2023, they donated $5 billion worth of Fortescue shares to the foundation, the largest single charitable donation in Australian history. In October 2024, the Forrests stepped down as co-chairs of the Minderoo Foundation but retained their board seats.
In 2023, Forrest established Coaxial which consists of entities including the non-profit Coaxial Foundation and the Coaxial Ventures business arm. The Coaxial Foundation's mission is focused on early childhood education, community wellbeing and promoting gender equality. The foundation's initial project—Project Oasis—will seek to improve access to high quality early learning in areas with poor access to childcare. Coaxial Ventures will focus on business ventures and investments that can complement and help fund Forrest’s philanthropic goals. In December 2024, Coaxial purchased the Terminus Hotel site in Fremantle. Philippa Watson was named the inaugural chief executive of Coaxial in March 2025.
Personal life
Nicola met Andrew Forrest in 1988 at his mother's housewarming party and they married in 1991. They have four children, including Sophia. Their third daughter was stillborn in 1998. In July 2023, Nicola and Andrew announced their separation after 31 years of marriage.She is a Christian.