Holmes a Court, Robert (1937-1990), was one of the wealthiest men in Australia in the 1980's. After working as a lawyer in Perth, he became a businessman in 1970. As chairman of the Bell group of companies, he made take-over bids for a number of large corporations. In 1982, he took over as chairman of Associated Communications Corporation from the entertainment executive Lord Lew Grade in the United Kingdom. In 1986, Holmes a Court was appointed to the board of one of Australia's leading companies, the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Ltd. (BHP), following a bitter and highly publicized take-over struggle.