Billionaire to donate $65m to Australian university

Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest and his wife Nicola will make an donation of 65 million AU dollars (61.5 million U.S. dollars) to alma mater, the University of Western Australia, making it the single largest donation in Australian history, local media reported on Monday. All major newspaper websites and the Australian Broadcast Company (ABC) have been reporting the news since Monday afternoon, saying the money will be used to establish a foundation to fund scholarships. The donation will be formally announced at a gala dinner Tuesday night to be attended by the Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the West Australian Premier Colin Barnett. The Financial Review reported that the 65 million dollars will be divided into an amount of 50 million (47.3 million U.S. dollars) to fund 25 international PhD students and six post-graduate researchers a year. They will be known as Forrest scholars and fellows. A further 15 million (14.2 million U.S. dollars) will be used to construct their accommodation at Forrest Hall which will be built adjacent to the university. Forrest's wealth is derived from his 33 percent interest in Fortescue, the world's fourth largest iron ore producer. He stepped down as chief executive in 2011 to focus on his philanthropic activities. The Forrests have pledged, following U.S. billionaire Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, to give most of their multi-billion dollar wealth to charity and 270 million (255.6 million U.S. dollars) has already been donated already through the foundation.