Personal life
Stokes has been married four times. His first marriage was to Dorothy "Dot" Ebert, who is the mother of two of his children. In an interview with The Bulletin , it was implied that Stokes was estranged from his first family. His second marriage was to his receptionist, Denise, with whom he had two sons. Denise walked out of the marriage and went overseas, and Stokes became a single father. His third marriage was to Australian television actress Peta Toppano in 1992. This marriage lasted for three years. In 1996 he married his fourth wife, Christine Simpson (née Parker), a newsreader for rival station Channel 10 when they first met. Stokes has three grandchildren. [1] [2]
Net worth
As of 2019 [update] , Forbes assessed Stokes' net worth as US$2.90 billion. [14] As of May 2023 [update] , the Australian Financial Review assessed Stokes' net worth as A$7.45 billion, the twelfth-richest Australian; and he was one of ten Australians who have appeared in every Financial Review Rich List, or its predecessor, the BRW Rich 200, since it was first published in 1984.
| Year | Financial Review Rich List | Forbes Australia's 50 Richest | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Net worth (A$) | Rank | Net worth (US$) | |
| 2015 [15] | 23 | $1.20 billion | ||
| 2016 [16] | 27 | $1.00 billion | ||
| 2017 [17] [18] [19] | 14 | $2.90 billion  | 14 | $2.60 billion |
| 2018 [20] [21] | 13 | $4.93 billion | $3.10 billion | |
| 2019 [14] [22] | 11 | $5.69 billion | 12 | $2.90 billion |
| 2020 [23] | 10 | $6.26 billion | ||
| 2021 [24] | 13 | $7.18 billion | ||
| 2022 | 12 | $7.00 billion | ||
| 2023 [5] | 12 | $7.45 billion | ||
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Icon | Description |
| Has not changed from the previous year |
| Has increased from the previous year |
| Has decreased from the previous year |
Philanthropy
In 1995 Stokes was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to business and commerce to the arts and to the community. [3] In 2008 Stokes was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for service to business and commerce through strategic leadership and promotion of corporate social responsibility, to the arts through executive roles and philanthropy, and to the community, particularly through contributions to organisations supporting youth. [4] His passionate interest in art coincides with his long association with the National Gallery of Australia, where he served as chairman for several years and has made multimillion-dollar donations.
He has also been awarded the Rotary Paul Harris Fellow Award by Rotary International and holds a life membership of the Returned and Services League of Australia, on whose behalf Stokes has acquired three Victoria Crosses, as well as other medals. These medals have been added to the collection of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. He now sits on the council of the War Memorial.
In November 2012, Stokes was named Western Australia's Australian of the Year for his extensive philanthropic contributions to Australian society. [25] In 1994, Stokes delivered the Boyer Lectures, a series of five lectures broadcast annually on ABC radio. His series was entitled "Advance Australia Where?" on the topic of the Information Superhighway. [26] He delivered the Andrew Olle Media Lecture in October 2001. [27]
Victoria Cross
Stokes has taken an active role in preserving Australian ownership of significant military heritage; he has now purchased three Australian Victoria Cross medal sets, and a George Cross medal set. Stokes has purchased all four sets via auction from Bonhams & Goodman of Sydney, Australia. The first was the VC medal set of Captain Alfred John Shout, paying a world record price of A$1.2 million on 24 July 2006. [28] In the same auction, he purchased the GC medal set of Lieutenant Commander George Gosse for A$180,000. [29] On 28 November of the same year, Stokes purchased the VC set of Lance Corporal Bernard Gordon for A$478,000. [30] He donated all three sets to the Australian War Memorial.
On 20 May 2008, Stokes, in conjunction with the South Australian Government, purchased the Victoria Cross medal set of Major Peter Badcoe for A$480,000. [31] The Badcoe medals were on public display in the South Australian Museum in Adelaide, and on tour in South Australia, for twelve months before going on display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. [32]
