Multi-millionaire Wild Oats XI owner Bob Oatley dies
Multi-millionaire Australian winemaker Bob Oatley, the owner of the most successful yacht in the Sydney to Hobart race, died Sunday aged 87.
Oatley and a succession of his yachts named Wild Oats have dominated ocean racing in Australia for years. In 2014 his supermaxi Wild Oats XI won the gruelling 628-nautical-mile event for a record-breaking eighth time.
A spokesman for Wild Oats XI confirmed his death on Sunday to AFP.
Oatley was ranked last year by Forbes magazine as Australia's 34th richest person with a net worth of Aus$970 million (US$632 million).
He built his wealth through coffee trading in Papua New Guinea and founded one of the nation's best-known wineries Rosemount Estates in 1969 before selling it for more than Aus$1 billion in 2001.
Oatley's passion for yachting extended beyond the Sydney to Hobart race. He planned to send a team to compete in the America's Cup before pulling out in 2014, citing cost concerns.
He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to the wine and tourism industries and to yachting, and for his philanthropy.
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