Australia’s wealthiest miners have lost nearly $20 billion in value since the peak of the iron ore mining boom.
Amid predictions from federal treasurer Joe Hockey that the dwindling iron ore prices will knock $30 billion out of the national budget, speculation about the estimated worth of Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart abounds, SMH reported.
In February the Forbes rich list estimated Rinehart’s worth at $11.7 billion, a considerable shortfall after her BRW listing last year which pegged her as Australia’s richest woman with $20.1 billion, which was already $2 billion less than her listing in 2013.
The Forbes estimate in 2014 for Gina Rinehart was US$17.7 billion, and today it stands at US$12.3 billion, ranking her number 94 on the global listing of billionaires.
Andrew Forrest has not fared any better, with forecasts that he may not even hold onto his status as a billionaire beyond the end of the year.
Forrest currently ranks number 847 on the Forbes global list of billionaires, with US$2.2 billion in value.
In 2008 Andrew Forrest’s wealth was estimated to have reached a peak of $13 billion, and in 2014 he was listed at $5.86 billion at the turn of the financial year, when iron ore prices were around US$95 per tonne.
With Fortescue Metals Group struggling to break even on current iron ore prices, Goldman Sachs has predicted Forrest’s wealth will sink to $500 million.
Image: West Australian
