Richard White, the billionaire tech pioneer, has resigned as chief of WiseTech Global in Australia after weeks of lurid allegations wiped billions from the market capitalisation of the company he founded 30 years ago.

The departure of White, 69, a tech entrepreneur who started his career repairing guitars for the band AC/DC, followed an investigation by the Australian newspapers the Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age which alleged that he purchased multimillion-dollar houses for a string of women he had been in secret relationships with.

He had also been accused by an outgoing director of intimidation, bullying and overseeing poor corporate governance.

WiseTech, a logistics software group, said that White would take a brief break before taking up a “full-time, long-term consulting