Blair Parry-Okeden

Blair Parry-Okeden (born 1950) is an American-born Australian billionaire heiress and philanthropist. According to Forbes Asia, she was Australia's richest person by net worth in 2016. Parry-Okeden is an heiress to the 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 trained to become a teacher.

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 presently has no role at the company.

Wealth

Parry-Okeden first came to prominence in Australia in March 2009 when Forbes Asia assessed her net worth at A$7.0 billion. In January 2016, her net worth was assessed by Forbes at US$9.8 billion; and in 2019 her wealth was estimated at US$9.3 billion; however no longer appeared on the list of Australians by net worth due to her US citizenship. Her philanthropic interests include the Shore School, the University of Hawaii's Center on Aging, 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 at Rockview Station in Scone, having moved to Australia from the US in the 1970s to live with her husband at the time.

Published works

• Parry-Okeden, Blair; Maree, Noella, (illustrator.) (1989). Down by the gate. Hillarys, W.A.: Bello Books. ISBN 978-0-9588904-2-7.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)