Andrew Forrest’s fortune is up more than $11bn during pandemic as Fortescue hits record high

The Fortescue billionaire chairman is richer than ever, but several other miners have also made big fortunes since March.

Mr Forrest’s rising wealth dwarfs that of anyone else in the sector. Picture: Colin Murty The Australian

Andrew Forrest’s wealth has reached new heights during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a ­series of record share price highs for his Fortescue Metals Group pushing his paper wealth to more than $20bn.

The mining magnate’s stake in the iron ore miner has increased by a whopping $11.6bn since markets around the world touched lows in mid-March amid global fears about the coronavirus.

Fortescue shares hit a fresh high of $16.74 during trading on Tuesday afternoon, and have more than doubled in value since March. The miner has broken through the $50bn market capitalisation barrier for the first time as iron ore prices have kept rising for much of the year.

The mining giant is one of several resources companies which have surged on the ASX in recent months, creating two new mining billionaires in Chris Ellison and Mark Creasy, on paper at least.

But Mr Forrest’s rising wealth dwarfs that of anyone else in the sector.

Fortescue, which is worth about 60 per cent more than at the start of the year, is now among the 10 biggest stocks in Australia and is larger than other ASX behemoths Woolworths, Telstra, Macquarie Group and Rio Tinto. Its market capitalisation rose above $51bn on Tuesday.

As chairman and the largest individual shareholder, Mr Forrest’s wealth from his shares alone is now about $18.5bn — though some of that is earmarked for his Minderoo charitable foundation.

He is also about $166m ahead on a $277m plunge he made on topping up his shareholding in a series of transactions in the last week of February and the second week of March, a buying spree which happened just before Fortescue stock plunged along with stocks around the world.

Many eyes will next turn to Fortescue’s next profit announcement during the upcoming corporate reporting season, including its final dividend.

Mr Forrest received about $750m from Fortescue’s half-year dividend in April, then promptly put $520m into the Minderoo foundation.

He and wife Nicole have now donated more than $2bn to the foundation.

Depending on Fortescue’s share price performance — and the amount Forrest continues to contribute to charity — he will vie for top position on next year’s ­edition of The List — Australia’s Richest 250, published by The Australian. He was the biggest ­individual giver to charity on this year’s list.

Kerry Stokes has seen about $1.7bn added to the value of his shareholding in Seven Group Holdings, which has exposure to the mining services sector via assets such as the Westrac machinery business and Coates Hire. However, Seven Group shares are still worth less than at the beginning of the year.

It is a similar story for Swiss-based billionaire Ivan Glasenberg, who has Australian citizenship after a stint working for the commodities giant Glencore in Australia in the 1980s. His shareholding in the business, from which he says he will step down, is up about $833m since March.

Then there is Mr Ellison, the managing director of mining services firm Mineral Resources and a noted prospector and mining ­investor with dozens of stocks in his portfolio.

He now has almost $600m worth of Mineral Resources shares, adding to his substantial cash and property portfolio that makes him among the wealthiest people in Perth.

Mineral Resources shares also hit a record on Tuesday, trading as high as $24.63 to give the company market capitalisation of more than $4.6bn.

Mr Creasy, who has a diverse range of mostly gold-focused shareholdings, is up about $170m on his stake in IGO Ltd since March.