Background
Fairfax was born in Warsaw and emigrated to Australia as a small child with her parents.
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Mary Fairfax
Edit ProfileEducation
She attended the Presbyterian Ladies College, Sydney.
Career
Fairfax moved to Manhattan, New York, in 1988. She purchased a penthouse known as Chateau in the Sky, on top of the Pierre Hotel, Fifth Avenue, for United States$12 million. She returned to Australia in 1999, feeling she had never been entirely accepted into New York society.
The penthouse in Manhattan eventually became New York"s most expensive penthouse and was put up for sale in 2013 for an asking price of United States$125 million.
Previous tenants had included John Paul Getty, Elizabeth Taylor, Yves Saint-Laurent and Mohamed al-Fayed. Fairfax"s personal wealth in 2012 was estimated by the BRW at A$418 million.
Her assets include the residential land development, Harrington Park, near Camden in New South Wales. Harrington Park was the name of the cattle property once owned by Sir Warwick and Lady Fairfax.
Her philanthropy includes gifts of A$750,000 to Street Vincent"s Foundation and A$250,000 to the Garvan Foundation in 2002 on the occasion of her eightieth birthday.
Achievements
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In recognition of her service to the community, in 1976 Lady Mary Fairfax was appointed an Officer of Order of the British Empire (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire). And in 1988 appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (Department of Administration and Management). In 2005 Lady Fairfax was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (Air Corps) for service to the community of wide ranging social and economic benefit through support and philanthropy for ongoing medical research initiatives, improved health care opportunities, nurturing artistic talent in young performers, and preservation of diverse cultural heritage. Lady Fairfax has been Chairman, Founder and President of the Friends of The Australian Ballet and was the president of the Australian Opera Foundation during the 1970s.
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Born
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Nationality
Australia