Kerry Matthew Stokes AC (born John Patrick Alford on 13 September 1940) is an Australian businessman.
He holds business interests in industries including electronic and print media, property, mining and construction equipment.
Appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1995,[3] Stokes was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2006 in recognition of his contributions to Australian business, strategic leadership, promotion of corporate social responsibility, to the arts through philanthropy, and to the community, most especially those services supporting young people.
He also developed a range of shopping centres in Perth and regional Western Australia with partners Jack Bendat and Kevin Merifield.
approximately 43 per cent), a network of commercial free-to-air television stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, as well as regional Queensland and Perth.
In 1996 he married his fourth wife, Christine Simpson (née Parker), a newsreader for rival station Channel 10 when they first met.
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.
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.
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.
[32] On 23 April 2020, during the global COVID-19 pandemic, Stokes and his wife, Christine Simpson, were granted quarantine within their own home after returning from a skiing trip in Colorado instead of in a hotel on medical grounds.
[33][34][35] After Seven Network employee and former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith sued the publishers of The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times for defamation, it was reported in 2020 that Stokes’ private investment company, Australian Capital Equity, had extended a line of credit to Roberts-Smith of around A$2 million to help fund his legal case.
[37][38] On 1 June 2023 Australian federal court Judge Anthony Besanko dismissed the case, ruling that, on the balance of probabilities, the papers had established substantial or contextual truth of allegations of war crimes committed by Roberts-Smith.