Read the complete write-up of Simon Holmes à Court net worth, age, wife, children, height, family, parents, climate 200, politics, business as well as other information you need to know.
Introduction
Simon Holmes à Court is an Australian businessman and political activist. He is the son of Australia’s first billionaire Robert Holmes à Court, and convenor of Climate 200. He also serves as senior advisor to the Climate and Energy College at Melbourne University, as director of the Smart Energy Council and the Australian Environmental Grant-makers Network.
Early life
| Name | Simon Holmes à Court |
| Net Worth | $150 million |
| Occupation | Businessman, Political activist |
| Height | 1.83m |
| Age | 50 years |
Simon Holmes à Court was born on May 30, 1972 (age 50 years) in Perth, Australia. He is the son of South African-born Australian businessman Robert Holmes à Court (who became Australia’s first billionaire), and businesswoman (and chairperson of Heytesbury Pty Ltd), Janet Holmes à Court.
Holmes à Court grew up in Perth but he and his siblings were sent to Victoria to board at Geelong Grammar School. He began an arts/law degree at the University of Western Australia, where he was involved in student politics, but withdrew after a few years.
He then moved to Malaysia to work for the family-owned John Holland Group on IT projects. Holmes à Court subsequently moved to the United States to study cognitive science and computer science at Dartmouth College.
Holmes à Court stated that when he was two-and-a-half he “tried to unlock a powerpoint with a car key” and that his mother “found me there wide eyed and conscious” with his right index finger “blasted to the bone.”
Career
Simon Holmes à Court spent five years working in Silicon Valley after completing his degree, including for Netscape, before returning to Australia in 2001. He then began working for the family-owned Heytesbury Pty. Ltd. attempting to improve the efficiency of their eight cattle stations in the Northern Territory.
Holmes à Court subsequently established Observant Pty Ltd as a company to develop remote water monitoring systems and other products. Holmes à Court was a driving force behind Australia’s country’s first community-owned wind farm, Hepburn Wind, near Daylesford in Central Victoria.
He stated “I got involved in Australia’s first community-owned, wind farm in Hepburn. I went along to a public meeting and accidentally came out as the chairman.”
Politics
Simon Holmes à Court was a financial supporter and member of federal Liberal MP Josh Frydenberg’s Kooyong200 fundraising arm. He was expelled by Frydenberg after he wrote an op-ed in Guardian Australia in 2018 supporting the closure of AGL’s coal-fired Liddell power station.
In 2019 Simon Holmes à Court was kicked out of Geebung Polo Club (now Auburn Hotel in Hawthorn East) at a “meet the candidate” event with Josh Frydenberg before the 2019 election. Holmes à Court stated “I found myself standing on the footpath with a glass of wine,” Holmes à Court says. “The hostess said, ‘You have to leave now.’ I said, ‘Can I finish my drink?’ She said, ‘No, the Treasurer says you have to leave now.’”
Check Out: Jane Hume net worth
Josh Frydenberg criticized Holmes à Court for spending much of the COVID-19 Melbourne lockdowns at his farm in Daylesford with his family. Holmes à Court responded by saying “I don’t even understand his angle… two of my family members were seriously ill, it was the most shit fucking time ever, so Josh can fuck off, excuse me. It was not a pleasant time at all. He doesn’t know me.”
Climate 200
In the lead-up to the 2019 Australian federal election, Climate200 raised nearly half a million dollars for the campaign. It led to the election of Zali Steggall, Helen Haines and the re-election of Rebekha Sharkie.
Simon Holmes à Court in 2020 leading up to the 2022 Australian Federal Election began to get more press coverage with Climate 200. On Thursday 14 October 2021 Holmes à Court appeared on Q+A alongside Liberal MP Tim Wilson, Labor MP Chris Bowen, Amelia Telford (Director of SEED Indigenous Youth Climate Network) and Anne Baker (Mayor of Issac Regional Council).
Criticism
Simon Holmes à Court was criticized in April 2019 for calling Senator Jane Hume out for “bitchiness”, and in February 2022 for calling Sarah Henderson a “#Crumbmaiden”.
Holmes à Court has been described by Warren Mundine as the “Clive Palmer but on the left” and that he is “just one of those filthy-rich spoiled brats who think they … influence elections by spending millions and millions of dollars.”
There are claims that Simon Holmes à Court and his family could make a profit out of a “potential boom in clean energy.”
Liberal MP Jason Falinski claimed that Holmes à Court is “attempting to take over the Parliament with money” and that “He treats Australians as though their vote is for sale.”
In May 2022 Leader of TNL Party, Victor Kline, accused Simon Holmes à Court of bullying him into dropping out as a federal candidate for the seat of North Sydney. The following day Holmes à Court was accused again of bullying by British climate activist Zion Lights.
Defamation suit
At 11:11 am on 17 May 2022, days before the 2022 Australian Federal Election, Simon Holmes à Court tweeted: @LiberalAus’s “angel of death” –John Howard — is expected at #KooyongVotes prepoll any moment. keep in mind he 1. undermined Kyoto agreement with the Australia clause 2. then refused to ratify Kyoto 3. lost the 2007 climate election & his own seat. Welcome to Kooyong john! — Simon Holmes à Court, Twitter.com
He was immediately accused by many of insensitivity in comparing former Australian Prime Minister John Howard to notorious Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, who had been called “The Angel of Death”.
Simon Holmes à Court stated that his tweet was taken out of context and that he was referring to an article in The Saturday Paper with an anonymous Liberal insider stating “I look at John Howard as the angel of death. You don’t send John Howard somewhere you don’t need him.”
Check Out: Penny Wong net worth
On 18 May Holmes à Court launched a defamation action against The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail news outlets and is also considering suing Liberal MP Dave Sharma, who accused Holmes à Court of a Holocaust slur.
On 18 May 2022, Simon Holmes à Court confronted Victorian Liberal Senator Jane Hume at a polling booth in Kooyong. The confrontation was filmed by the Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on his phone. The video was shortly uploaded to the Liberal Party Twitter account with the tweet saying “This is disappointing behaviour. Will @zdaniel or @Mon4Kooyong condemn it?”
The tweet and the confrontation led to many Liberal politicians calling for Holmes à Court to apologize for his tweet including Howard, Frydenberg and Finance Minister Simon Birmingham, Dave Sharma.
Wife
Simon Holmes à Court is married to Katrina von Möller, they had their wedding in 2003 in Hydra, Greece. His wife is the sister of the Australian film director Karl von Möller. The couple has four children together. Holmes à Court and his wife have a 36-hectare off-grid farm in Daylesford, Victoria, living there during Melbourne’s lockdown. They also live in a private house in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn.
Simon Holmes à Court net worth
How much is Simon Holmes à Court worth? Simon Holmes à Court net worth is estimated at around $150 million. His main source of income is from his career as a businessman. His salary and other earnings are over $10 million annually. Holmes à Court successful career has earned him some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy car trips. He is one of the richest and influential people in Australia.