Background
Fairfax was born in Sydney, the eldest son of Sir Warwick Oswald Fairfax and Marcie Elizabeth (Betty) Wilson. He is the grandson of Sir James Oswald Fairfax (1863–1928) and David Wilson KC (1879–1965).
Fairfax was born in Sydney, the eldest son of Sir Warwick Oswald Fairfax and Marcie Elizabeth (Betty) Wilson. He is the grandson of Sir James Oswald Fairfax (1863–1928) and David Wilson KC (1879–1965).
Educated at Cranbrook School, Geelong Grammar School and Balliol College, Oxford, he became a director of John Fairfax & Sons Limited in 1957 and took over from his father in 1977. Fairfax published a memoir in 1991. A prominent art collector, initially of Australian art, and from the 1960s increasingly of European old masters.
A catalogue of his collection of art was published to accompany an exhibition held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, between April and July 2003.
In 2015, Fairfax"s Netto worth was estimated in the BRW Rich 200 to be A$302 million, comprising a mix of property, diversified investments and an extensive collection of art and antiques.
He is a generous supporter of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Australia.