White noise
New allegations against WiseTech Global's billionaire founder Richard White come at the same time the company is facing disruption from Trump's trade war.
When Richard White’s personal life first made headlines last October, his logistics software company WiseTech Global was soaring to heights almost unseen by an ASX-listed tech company.
Now, with the billionaire facing new complaints and a Fair Work lawsuit, White is back in the news again. Only this time, WiseTech needs to navigate waters rippling with the possibility of an international trade war.
WiseTech’s primary product, which generated $880 million in revenue last financial year, is shipping platform CargoWise. It’s used by the likes of DHL, Fedex and Nippon Express to track and organise shipments between ports around the world and to make sure those shipments comply with the many jurisdictions they pass through.
The growth of WiseTech, as the world’s dominant maker of shipping logistics software, is tied to global trade. More trade, more international cargo, more WiseTech. That makes the protectionist tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump, and the tit-for-tat they have already triggered from China, a risk. At least in theory.
