Read about David McBride net worth, age, wife, children, height, family, parents, salary and career as well as other information you need to know.
Introduction
David McBride is an Australian whistleblower and former British Army major and Australian Army lawyer. McBride provided the Australian Broadcasting Corporation with documents that contained information about war crimes committed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.
McBride was charged in 2018 with several offences related to unlawfully disclosing Commonwealth documents. In 2023, he pleaded guilty to the charges. During the case, his lawyers said McBride leaked information to the press because he was concerned about the Australian Defence Force’s excessive investigation of special forces soldiers in Afghanistan.
Early life
| Name | David McBride |
| Net Worth | $2 million |
| Occupation | Former Army major, Lawyer, Whistleblower |
| Age | 60 years |
| Height | 1.88m |
David William McBride was born on December 15, 1963 (age 60 years) in Australia. He is the son of Australian parents, William McBride, an obstetrician in Sydney, and Patricia McBride (née Glover), also a doctor. He has two sisters, Catherine and Louise, and one brother, John.
He graduated in law at the Sydney University and then obtained a scholarship to take a second degree in the same subject at Oxford University.
Career
David McBride joined the British Army and served in Germany before training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and then commanding a Blues and Royals platoon in Northern Ireland. He left the army after failing to complete the entry requirements for the Special Air Service.
After a period in civilian life, including security work in Rwanda and Zaire, a stint as a “tracker” on the 1990s British reality-style television game show, Wanted, as security adviser to the series Journeys to the Ends of the Earth, and an unsuccessful 2003 attempt to win a New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat representing Coogee, for the Liberal Party, he enlisted in the Australian Army as a lawyer.
McBride twice deployed to Afghanistan, in 2011 and 2013. He was medically discharged with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2017. In 2023, McBride published his memoir The Nature of Honour.
In 2016, McBride leaked classified military documents to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. McBride had become dissatisfied with military leadership and increased scrutiny of soldiers. The ABC found evidence of war crimes and published the information in their 2017 public ation The Afghan Files. McBride was allegedly unhappy with ABC’s reporting of his documents.
In September 2018, McBride was arrested at Sydney Airport and charged with the theft of Commonwealth property contrary to s 131(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995; in March 2019 he was charged with a further four offences: three of breaching s 73A(1) of the Defence Act 1903; and another of “unlawfully disclosing a Commonwealth document contrary to s 70(1) of the Crimes Act 1914”.
David McBride pleaded not guilty to each of the charges at a 30 May 2019 preliminary hearing. His legal team includes Nick Xenophon and Mark Davis. In October 2022, it was reported that the case against McBride would proceed to trial.
McBride and his lawyers had tried to get the prosecution dropped by applying for protection under Australia’s whistleblower laws. This application relied on expert testimony of 2 witnesses. However, the Australian Government moved to quash this testimony (prevent it from being heard) on national security grounds. Consequently McBride and his team dropped the application to stop the trial.
During McBride’s 2023 legal proceedings in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, McBride’s lawyers told the court that he had leaked information in an attempt to bring awareness to excessive investigation of soldiers.
Justice David Mossop stated “the way you’ve explained it is that the higher-ups might have been acting illegally by investigating these people too much, and that that was the source of the illegality that was being exposed.”
He pleaded guilty on 17 November 2023. The plea came after Justice Mossop ruled that he would instruct the incoming jury that McBride was not bound to act in the public interest under his oath of service and the government were allowed to claim public-interest immunity for documents McBride’s defence team sought to use. No appeal was allowed for either decision, and on 14 May 2024, McBride was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison.
Wife
David McBride was married to Sarah Green, the couple had two children together. In 2016, David McBride and his wife Sarah Green separated. However, a portrait of McBride, titled The Whistleblower, by Kate Stevens won the 2023 Portia Geach Memorial Award. In 2023, Crikey named McBride their Person of the Year.
David McBride net worth
How much is David McBride worth? David McBride net worth is estimated at around $3 million. His main source of income is from his primary work as a Army major and lawyer. David McBride’s salary per month and other career earning are over $210,000 dollars annually. His remarkable achievements have earned him some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy cars trips. He is one of the richest and influential whistleblowers in Australia. He stands at an appealing height of 1.88m and has a good body weight which suits his personality.