:Blair Parry-Okeden
{{Short description|American-Australian billionaire}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Blair Parry-Okeden
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1950}}
| birth_place = Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
| other_names =
| known_for = Heiress, Cox Enterprises
| occupation =
| education = La Pietra: Hawaii School for Girls
| alma_mater =
| nationality =
| parents = {{plainlist|
- Stanley C. Kennedy, Jr
- Barbara Cox Anthony
}}
| spouse = Simon Parry-Okeden (divorced)
| children = 2
| relatives = {{unbulleted list|{{nowrap|James M. Cox {{small|(grandfather)}}}}|James C. Kennedy {{small|(brother)}}|Anne Cox Chambers {{Small|(aunt)}}|Katharine Rayner {{small|(first cousin)}}|Margaretta Taylor {{small|(first cousin)}}|James Cox Chambers {{small|(first cousin)}}}}
}}
Blair Parry-Okeden (born 1950) is an American-born{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/blair-parry-okeden/#322a6e405631 |title=Billionaires 2019: #153 Blair Parry-Okeden |work=Forbes |date=2019 |access-date=28 September 2020 }} Australian billionaire heiress and philanthropist. According to Forbes Asia, she was Australia's richest person by net worth in 2016.{{cite news|title=Gina Rinehart gives way to Blair Parry-Okeden as Australia's wealthiest person|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/28/gina-rinehart-gives-way-to-blair-parry-okeden-as-australias-wealthiest-person|work=Guardian Australia|date=28 January 2016}} Parry-Okeden's wealth derives from Cox Enterprises.
Early life
Parry-Okeden was born in 1950 in Honolulu, Hawaii, and educated there at La Pietra: Hawaii School for Girls, which was founded by her mother, Barbara Cox Anthony. She then studied to become a teacher.{{cite news|last1=Jensen|first1=Erik|title=A quiet American is Australia's richest person|url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/a-quiet-american-is-australias-richest-person-20090312-8wgv.html|accessdate=10 November 2014|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=13 March 2009}}
Parry-Okeden's grandfather James M. Cox founded the privately held media company Cox Enterprises. Her brother James C. Kennedy is the chairman, and her aunt, Anne Cox Chambers, is the largest shareholder and sits on the board. In 2007, following the death of her mother, Parry-Okeden inherited 25% of Cox Enterprises. She currently has no role at the company.{{cite web|title=Australia's secret billionaire adds $US500 million to her fortune in 12 months|url=http://www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/wealth-management/13703-20100312-australia-s-secret-billionaire-adds--us500-million-to-her-fortune-in-12-months.html|website=SmartCompany|accessdate=28 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204073716/http://www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/wealth-management/13703-20100312-australia-s-secret-billionaire-adds--us500-million-to-her-fortune-in-12-months.html|archive-date=4 February 2016|url-status=dead}}
Wealth
Parry-Okeden first came to prominence in Australia in March 2009 when Forbes Asia assessed her net worth at {{AUD}}7.0 billion. In January 2016, her net worth was assessed by Forbes at {{USD}}9.8 billion;{{cite web|title=Blair Parry-Okeden|url=https://www.forbes.com/australia-billionaires/gallery|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203191029/http://www.forbes.com/australia-billionaires/gallery|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 February 2013|website=Forbes - Australia's richest|accessdate=28 January 2016}} and in 2019 her wealth was estimated at {{USD}}9.3 billion; however, she no longer appeared on the list of Australians by net worth due to her US citizenship. She has given money to the Shore School, the University of Hawaii's Center on Aging,{{cite news|author=Murphy, Damien|title=The reclusive heiress who is the richest Australian|url=http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/the-reclusive-heiress-who-is-the-richest-australian-20160128-gmgb5y.html|accessdate=10 June 2016|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=29 January 2016}} the Scone Grammar School, and Strathearn Village, a non-profit aged-care centre.
Personal life
Parry-Okeden has two sons, Andrew and Henry, with her ex-husband Simon Parry-Okeden. She lives in Australia, having moved there from the US in the 1970s to live with her husband at the time.{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11581265 |title=Gina Rinehart toppled as Australia's richest |work=New Zealand Herald |date=28 January 2016 |accessdate=28 January 2016}}
Published works
- {{cite book |author1=Parry-Okeden, Blair |author2=Maree, Noella, (illustrator.) |title=Down by the gate |date=1989 |publisher=Bello Books |location=Hillarys, W.A. |isbn=978-0-9588904-2-7 }}{{ref|a|[note a]}}
Notes
- {{note|a|[note a]}} Down by the gate is a children's book about an advertisement that Mother Goose placed in a newspaper.
References
{{Reflist}}
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Category:American billionaires
Category:American expatriates in Australia
Category:Businesspeople from Hawaii
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