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RESOURCES100 MOST INFLUENTIAL53ANDREWFORRESTAs a wealth creator, Andrew Forrest’sFortescue Metals Group is without peer inthe period since the Poseidon bubble of1969. It has made one billionaire, liftedothers into the ranks of the comfortably richand created dozens of millionaires.While Forrest has grabbed the lion’s shareof attention by virtue of being propelled tothe top of Australia’s rich list, plenty ofothers have also profited in stunning fashionfrom the company’s ascent.There are the Fortescue staff who weregiven thousands of options each tosupplement their wages in the company’sformative years, creditors who were paid incompany stock and the investors whobought shares at 55¢ apiece in Fortescue’sfirst equity raising via Patersons Securities.Thousands more have benefited from theFMG gravy train through well-paid jobs.Creating from scratch the world’sfourth-biggest iron ore miner helped washthe bad taste of his time at Anaconda Nickelfrom the mouths of investors.Forrest earns his place on this list for tworeasons: his deal-making ability and hiscommitment to philanthropy.Convincing China Inc to back his dream ofbreaking the stranglehold that Rio Tinto andBHP Billiton had on the Pilbara, which pavedthe way for a stream of other mid-tier ironore miners, is testament to his deal-makingprowess.With regards to his philanthropic zeal, hehas let his money do the talking. This year’s$65 million to the University of WA was oneof the greatest single acts of charity in theState’s history.GINARINEHARTAustralia’s richest woman rarely makes apublic appearance and rarer still a publicstatement.Not for her is the direct and publicpolitical involvement of the nation’s otherfamous mining billionaire, Clive Palmer.Gina Rinehart wields her influence awayfrom the public eye.Whether through dining with Cabinetministers or tying up opponents andcritics — even her family — in intense andoften protracted legal battles, LangHancock’s daughter’s position as one ofAustralia’s, and by extension WA’s, mostinfluential business people cannot bedenied. According to this year’s WA’s RichList, Rinehart is worth a staggering $14.1billion.Much of her fabulous wealth comesfrom the Rio Tinto-run joint venture atHope Downs — the deposit her fatherfamously pegged after a flight in thePilbara.Her critics label her a lucky heir.Rinehart says she is a self-made woman,who was left little by her father and had towork to get his house in order when hedied in controversial circumstances in1992. The truth, which will always beargued about, is likely somewhere inbetween.What cannot be disputed is that sheturned whatever she inherited intosomething much greater and she isinching closer to the big prize: her ownintegrated iron ore project at Roy Hill.Friday, November 29, 2013