house price in Sydney that year was just $188,000. Today, the Fairfax Road propertyis worth more than $4 million. Built in 1900, the sprawling two-storey house has five bedrooms, a dining room with seating for twelve people, a morning room, a den, a formal sitting room and a piano room. Outside are parking bays for several cars, a swimming pool and a self-contained apartment. To top it off, the house is just 250 metres from Sydney Harbour and a relaxed stroll to the plush boutiquesof Double Bay.
Ever the promoter, Forrest was quoted in the Australian Financial Review in 1993 as saying he believed his new digs would prove to be a sound investment since houses around the $1 million mark represented the “softest” part of the Sydney market. As it turned out, Forrest never made the big gains on the property he had predicted, selling it three years later for $1.16 million– or around 14 per cent more than what he paid.
Looking back, Grigor reckons the accumulated stress of working with Forrest for five years took its toll on him and contributed to some major health problems. Many of the tensions between the pair at Far East – and plenty of their successes also – arose from the fact that Grigor and Forrest were polar opposites. While Forrest was partying withhis wealthy Sydney mates, Grigor was happily ensconced at his family home in suburban Sutherland, twenty-five kilometres south of the CBD. When Forrest was out zealously spruiking the latest mining stocks, Grigor was carefully poring over data in balance sheets. Forrest’s main mission in life at that point was to make pots of money, but Grigor, who speaks Gaelic and plays the bagpipes, says thathas never been his main motivation.
Grigor says he spent a lot of time dealing with the Australian Securities Commission and the Australian Stock Exchange about Forrest. “He had a fairly cavalier approach,” Grigor recalls. “With my legal training I’d have to come in later and sweep up after him a fair bit.” In 1996, when Forrest became chief executive of Anaconda Nickel, he said publiclyhe’d be stepping back from his role at Far East Capital to concentrate on the new job.
Within months of that 1996 announcement, however, Forrest had decided to leave Far East altogether and return to Perth to run Anaconda, a company he had been advising for three years. It was a big punt but he was convinced Anaconda was a pathway to great wealth. He offered Grigor the role of chief financialofficer of Anaconda, which Grigor turned down. “At that stage Andrew was a little bit out of control and I didn’t want to work for him,” Grigor says. “I didn’t want to be an employee because he’d be too unreasonable – it was challenging enough having him as a partner. The liberties he would take would conflict with my conservative side.”
The split with Grigor was amicable at first but soonturned nasty after a dispute erupted between the pair over the ownership of a pile of Anaconda shares worth millions of dollars. By now, these sorts of clashes were becoming common for Forrest. Just as he had fallen out with Albert Wong at Intersuisse in 1990 and then become embroiled in a bitter legal fight with his associates over the alpacas, so too his once-close relationship with Grigor fellapart in late 1996.
When Forrest left Far East Capital, the assets of the firm were split between the two partners. These included 9 million options in Anaconda Nickel that could be converted into shares if the stock price hit 30 cents. Grigor says he exercised his 4.5 million options and sold the shares in April 1996, when the stock was trading at about $1.30, pocketing a cool $6 million.But the shares soared to $4.50 within six months, meaning Grigor had potentially missed out on a much bigger payday. Grigor claims he was convinced to sell his shares by Forrest and his fellow Anaconda director Michael O’Keeffe, the local boss of Swiss commodities trader Glencore, which had invested in the nickel
Ever the promoter, Forrest was quoted in the Australian Financial Review in 1993 as saying he believed his new digs would prove to be a sound investment since houses around the $1 million mark represented the “softest” part of the Sydney market. As it turned out, Forrest never made the big gains on the property he had predicted, selling it three years later for $1.16 million– or around 14 per cent more than what he paid.
Looking back, Grigor reckons the accumulated stress of working with Forrest for five years took its toll on him and contributed to some major health problems. Many of the tensions between the pair at Far East – and plenty of their successes also – arose from the fact that Grigor and Forrest were polar opposites. While Forrest was partying withhis wealthy Sydney mates, Grigor was happily ensconced at his family home in suburban Sutherland, twenty-five kilometres south of the CBD. When Forrest was out zealously spruiking the latest mining stocks, Grigor was carefully poring over data in balance sheets. Forrest’s main mission in life at that point was to make pots of money, but Grigor, who speaks Gaelic and plays the bagpipes, says thathas never been his main motivation.
Grigor says he spent a lot of time dealing with the Australian Securities Commission and the Australian Stock Exchange about Forrest. “He had a fairly cavalier approach,” Grigor recalls. “With my legal training I’d have to come in later and sweep up after him a fair bit.” In 1996, when Forrest became chief executive of Anaconda Nickel, he said publiclyhe’d be stepping back from his role at Far East Capital to concentrate on the new job.
Within months of that 1996 announcement, however, Forrest had decided to leave Far East altogether and return to Perth to run Anaconda, a company he had been advising for three years. It was a big punt but he was convinced Anaconda was a pathway to great wealth. He offered Grigor the role of chief financialofficer of Anaconda, which Grigor turned down. “At that stage Andrew was a little bit out of control and I didn’t want to work for him,” Grigor says. “I didn’t want to be an employee because he’d be too unreasonable – it was challenging enough having him as a partner. The liberties he would take would conflict with my conservative side.”
The split with Grigor was amicable at first but soonturned nasty after a dispute erupted between the pair over the ownership of a pile of Anaconda shares worth millions of dollars. By now, these sorts of clashes were becoming common for Forrest. Just as he had fallen out with Albert Wong at Intersuisse in 1990 and then become embroiled in a bitter legal fight with his associates over the alpacas, so too his once-close relationship with Grigor fellapart in late 1996.
When Forrest left Far East Capital, the assets of the firm were split between the two partners. These included 9 million options in Anaconda Nickel that could be converted into shares if the stock price hit 30 cents. Grigor says he exercised his 4.5 million options and sold the shares in April 1996, when the stock was trading at about $1.30, pocketing a cool $6 million.But the shares soared to $4.50 within six months, meaning Grigor had potentially missed out on a much bigger payday. Grigor claims he was convinced to sell his shares by Forrest and his fellow Anaconda director Michael O’Keeffe, the local boss of Swiss commodities trader Glencore, which had invested in the nickel
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