Andrew Forrest on top of the rich list (briefly)

 No-one knows the roller coaster of wealth like Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest.

This time last year, with shares in his iron ore company Fortescue Metals Group surging, his personal stake in the company was valued at over $12 billion.

Fast forward a year and the slump in global commodity prices has pushed Forrest’s fortune down to $2.4 billion. He dropped from top spot on BRW’s Rich 200 list in 2008 to seventh on this year’s edition.

But in the last few weeks, Forrest has been quietly making a bid to regain the title. Since May 25, Fortescue’s share price had jumped from $2.53 to close yesterday at $4.35 – a staggering 71% increase in just a few weeks.

When trading on the Australian Securities Exchange opened this morning, Forrest’s stake in the company was worth $4.2 billion. That’s just below the $4.3 billion valuation BRW gave to this year’s richest person, Anthony Pratt (son of late cardboard magnate Richard Pratt).

At 10.03am AEST, Twiggy took back the title, when Fortescue’s shares hit $4.55 and his stake was valued at $4.4 billion.

Alas, the celebration was short-lived. The stock has since fallen slightly and his back at $4.22 at 11.00am AEST. That made Forrest’s stake worth $4.1 billion.

Part of the reason for the fall is that Fortescue told the ASX this morning that it knew of no reason that its shares would have spiked in recent weeks. Investors have been betting that Chinese investors, who are cashed-up and hungry for iron ore, would have been sniffing around Fortescue.

These investors may have been hoping Fortescue was about to announce a new deal this morning, rather than giving the ASX the old “we know nothing” routine.

Still, the theory of these speculators has plenty of merit. The Chinese are hungry for iron ore and they have shown through their attempts to buy stakes in OZ Minerals and Rio Tinto that they are very keen to invest in Australian companies.

If a deal does emerge, Forrest will be back on top of the rich list for more than just a few minutes.