Andrew Forrest and his family have a net worth 0f $14.4 billion but it’s unlikely that they have ever earned an easier $500 million thanks to a well-timed investment in gold, a metal also attracting fellow Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart.
Both Forrest and Rinehart, with her estimated net worth of $26.4 billion made their fortunes mining iron ore but as demand for that steel-making material peaks and the price eases they’re spreading their portfolios.
Andrew Forrest, chairman of Fortescue Metals, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergRinehart prefers traditional energy with a large and growing exposure to oil and gas as well as highly profitable investments in rare earths in Australia and the U.S.
Gold has been added recently, partly because the price has been rising strongly for the past three years but also because it’s a natural for both as their families have deep roots in Australia’s major gold-producing State of Western Australia.
