Billionaire exempted from mandatory hotel quarantine after returning from ski resort

Kerry Stokes and wife locked down in Colorado before flying back to Perth in private jet

Billionaire media mogul Kerry Stokes and his wife managed to dodge a mandatory hotel quarantine after returning to western Australia from a ski trip in the US state of Colorado.

Instead the couple will spend the quarantine period in their mansion in Perth, Australia.

Mr Stokes was given an exemption to the rules by the Australian government – which has ordered everyone arriving from overseas be held for an 11-days in a hotel room or other accommodation for a supervised quarantine.

A spokesman for Mr Stokes told The Guardian the Australian government granted the couple an exemption to the quarantine period for medical reasons.

“Mr Stokes and his wife received an exemption because Mr Stokes recently underwent a medical procedure,” the spokesman said. “The exemption also applied to Mr Stokes’ wife who accompanied him and they have been in isolation for two weeks at their home in Perth.”

Mr Stokes is one of the richest and most influential men in Australia, commanding an estimated net worth of £1.9bn. He amassed his wealth through investment in varied interests, specifically mining, media and construction.

The couple had been on lockdown in their £12m penthouse in Beaver Creek outside of Aspen, Colorado before flying back in a private jet to Perth.

The spokesman for Mr Stokes said he and his wife “strictly followed all the required protocols during that time” and claimed “many thousands” of Australians have been granted exemptions to the two-week quarantine.

In western Australia – which began enforcing its hard border policies on 6 April, 3,000 people have arrived by air and 900 were exempted from the hotel quarantine.

The exempted individuals were given directions to self-quarantine rather than report to a quarantine centre.

Australian police said exemptions were given for “a variety of reasons including compassionate and health-related grounds.”

When asked about the specifics of Mr Stokes’ case, western Australia’s health minister, Roger Cook, said he would not speak about specific cases and that exemption decisions were made by the police and health authorities.