
Andrew Forrest has continued his share market cash splash as the market took a nosedive this week.
The Fortescue founder now owns 36.25 per cent of the company after spending $35 million on four million shares.
Forrest lost over $1 billion in Fortescue’s share value since the market crashed on Monday, which marked the biggest fall on the Australian share market since October 2008.
He also cashed in almost $243 million on Fortescue’s shares last month after concerns over the coronavirus outbreak caused the market to fall.
Despite Fortescue’s half year profit of US$2.5 billion ($3.85 billion), a surge to more than three times the amount from the previous year, the company’s share price plummeted from a record high of $12.69 in January to $8.96 on Friday morning.
Fortescue has also donated thousands of face masks and provided funding to convert a sports stadium into a 300-bed makeshift hospital for coronavirus victims in Wuhan, China – the epicentre for the outbreak.