Rich List 2016: Clive Palmer and James Packer lead stock portfolio winners
It is a rare bit of good news for Clive Palmer. As his wealth falls and his political career seemingly draws to an end, Palmer's investment in a small mining stock is at least one move that has gone right for him in 2016.
Shares in minnow De Grey Mining, in which Palmer's Mineralogy Group has a stake, are up 200 per cent since the beginning of the year as hopes rise about its gold project in Western Australia's Pilbara.
Palmer is one of many BRW Rich 200 list members who have doubled their money investing in junior mining companies or small caps, adding to the success some list debutants have have had listing on the Australian Securities Exchange this year.
Jonathan Munz, the chairman of Reliance Worldwide Corporation, will debut as a billionaire on the list this year after his company floated in late April. Munz and his family made about $900 million from the float, which surged 18 per cent on its first day oft trading. Reliance shares have traded sideways since.
Munz places 50th on the Rich 200 when the 2016 edition is published in The Australian Financial Review Magazine on Friday, with wealth of $1.07 billion. He is joined on the list by WiseTech Global chief executive Richard White, who is in 87th place with a $657 million fortune.
WiseTech shares rose 16 per cent on its first day of trading earlier in April, after the company had raised $168 million in the float. Since then WiseTech shares have risen by about 10 per cent.
Wide array of speculatives
Other established Rich Listers have enjoyed success with a wide array of speculative investments. James Packer, for example, has the majority of his wealth tied to casino group Crown Resorts. But the billionaire also has a stake in Mod Resources, which has a copper project in Botswana. Mod raised $2 million from investors earlier this year to expand its drilling program, and its shares are up 360 per cent since January 1.
Veteran prospector Mark Creasy has also found some gems among the dozens of mining stocks he has investments in, including Gascoyne Resources. The WA miner is up 368 per cent this year, and recently raised $15 million from investors to "aggressively" pursue its gold exploration projects.
Creasy has long been a speculative resources investor, but one Rich Lister to show more recent interest in the sector after previously avoiding it is fund manager David Paradice.
His Paradice Investment Management has been steadily building its stake in Beadell Resources, which has projects in WA and Brazil. Beadell stock has surged about 106 per cent since January 1.
Another getting back into the game is Kerry Harmanis, who made his initial fortune with the sale of his Jubilee Resources to Xstrata in 2007 for $3.1 billion. One of the smaller stocks Harmanis now has a stake in is Alicanto Minerals, a gold miner exploring in Guyana. Its shares are up 200 per cent this year.
Then there are those who have doubled their money in 12 months. Among them is Marcus Blackmore, chairman of fast-growing vitamins company Blackmores. Blackmore will debut on the Rich 200 with $786 million wealth after his company has risen 160 per cent in value in the past 12 months.
Billionaire John Gandel has enjoyed a 132 per cent rise in his shares in construction software firm Aconex, while Chris Morris's stock in Smart Parking is up 188 per cent. Bruce Neill's stake in Bellamy's Australia has risen 209 per cent and the Teoh family, led by billionaires David and Vicky Teoh, have enjoyed a 400 per cent surge in their shares in gold producer Millennium Metals.
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