Hamish Douglass breaks his silence

Hamish Douglass, co-founder of Magellan Financial Group, has revealed that he experienced suicidal thoughts during and after the firm's unravelling, telling Rampart in his first interview since his shock departure that he could see no way out. He also confirmed for the first time publicly that he is gay, ending years of rumours he says were maliciously weaponised to spook investors and ultimately forced him out of the company he built. 

"I'd actually started having suicidal thoughts, a number of them,” Douglass said. "What's frightening is I don't know the time when people start having those thoughts to when they actually do it. And people often say when people commit suicide, 'I saw them last week,' or 'I saw them yesterday and they seemed fine.' And many people at Magellan couldn't understand because they said, 'I saw Hamish the week before he spoke at a conference. He looked fine.' I wasn't fine." 

Douglass, speaking on a new episode of Rampart Talks with Rampart founder Joe Aston, said he told his now ex-wife Alexandra that he was gay in May 2021, ending a marriage of nearly 30 years. He endeavoured to manage the separation privately before The Australian Financial Review reported on the persistent market gossip that he'd split from his wife. 

On his decision to come out to his family – and now publicly – rather than conceal his sexuality, Douglass said he was directly influenced by his late father Gordon, who never publicly divulged his own sexuality despite conducting relationships with men throughout his marriage.