Billionaires and other rich Australians are taking a hammering on the stockmarket

Some of the biggest names in Australian business have seen the fortunes dented on the ASX this year.

The fortunes of Australia’s wealthiest people have been dented by more than $1bn this year as the share prices of some of their big investments slide.

Mining companies, casino giants, manufacturers, financial services firms and food brands have all fallen in value on the ASX, hitting the fortunes of billionaires and other members of The List – Australia’s Richest 250.

Amid general sluggish conditions for float prospects, inflation and geopolitical concerns and a fall in consumer spending, the ASX200 is down more than 6 per cent in the last six months.

Some big-name stocks have fallen even more.

Mining billionaires Gina Rinehart and Tim Goyder combined took a $750m hit to their investments in lithium group Liontown Resources last week after a failed takeover bid and a discounted ­equity raising sent its shares plummeting.

Some of their other investments have also taken a tumble.

Mr Goyder’s shares in critical minerals explorer Chalice Mining are down about 71 per cent this year, with the stock taking a big tumble in August after investors were disappointed at the results of a long-awaited scoping study into its Gonneville project.

Gonneville is a project planned on Chalice-owned farmland in Western Australia, which Chalice says is well positioned to be a big source of battery and hydrogen green metals.

But amid a general downturn in lithium stocks as the price of the commodity falls around the world this year, Chalice stock has fallen and Mr Goyder’s shareholding in the company is down about $180m.

Ms Rinehart, meanwhile, has seen the shares her Hancock Prospecting holds in another lithium play fall this year, Vulcan Energy Resources.

Vulcan wants to develop a lithium project in the Rhine River valley in Germany, and Ms Rinehart’s son John Hancock is also a shareholder.

The company’s shares are down about 63 per cent since January 1.

Meanwhile, billionaire Bruce Mathieson has taken a hit on his investment in casino company The Star Entertainment Group.

The pub baron made a big splash in February when he built a 9.9 per cent stake in the struggling Star, which has fallen 61 per cent this year alone.

Mr Mathieson’s stake was diluted recently when The Star undertook a discounted raising, and based on the average price he paid for his shares earlier this year, he is down about $100m on his investment.

As well as The Star, Mr Mathieson has been embroiled in an increasingly bitter boardroom battle at Endeavour Group, the pub, bottle shop and poker machines business he has a 15 per cent stake in – the biggest source of his wealth.

Endeavour shares are down about 20 per cent since January 1.

Raphael “Ruffy” Geminder is another billionaire locked in a shareholder battle, with his recent attempt to privatise his Pact Group manufacturing business running into issues.

Mr Geminder is chairman and major shareholder of Pact and has made a $232m offer to take Pact off the ASX, but an independent expert ruled the bid “neither fair nor reasonable”.

The 68c per share takeover offer comes as Pact shares have fallen 29 per cent this year, leading to a $50m paper loss for Mr Geminder. Pact floated on the ASX at $3.50 in late 2013.

Kerr Neilson is another billionaire having issues at the company he founded, investment firm Platinum Asset Management.

While Mr Neilson has now retired from Platinum, and has left its board, he remains its biggest shareholder.

But Platinum shares have fallen 34 per cent since January 1, cutting Neilson’s wealth by $80m. Neilson has been critical of co-founder Andrew Clifford’s dual role as chief executive and co-chief investment officer, with Mr Clifford bowing to pressure and announcing in August that he would step down as CEO.

Meanwhile, billionaire Andrew Forrest’s stake in Bega Cheese, held via he and wife Nicola’s Tattarang investment business, is down about 23 per cent this year.

Originally published as Billionaires and other rich Australians are taking a hammering on the stockmarket