A BuzzFeed News investigation revealed Latham appeared to be trolling high-profile Australian women online using the guise of Twitter account @RealMarkLatham.

The AFR released a statement confirming Latham's resignation on Monday, citing controversy around his views about feminism and social issues.

"Mark has been a provocative and highly readable columnist for the Financial Review. He has been both loved and hated by readers – sometimes by the same ones at different times. While I didn't agree with everything Mark wrote, he has played a significant role in Australian public life and brought rare personal insight into his writing," said AFR editor Michael Stutchbury.

BuzzFeed News alerted the AFR to the existence of the Twitter account last week and received no response from Fairfax Media or Latham to repeated questioning.