Andrew Forrest Ao

Dr Forrest is Australia’s most active philanthropist and one of the most effective business leaders of his generation.

As Fortescue’s Founder and Chairman, he has led the Company from inception to its Top 10 status on the Australian Stock Exchange, during which time Fortescue invested more than US$27 billion in the resources sector.

In 2001, Dr Forrest co-founded the Minderoo Foundation with his wife Nicola, which has supported over 300 initiatives across Australia and internationally in pursuit of a range of causes. In April 2020, the Forrests announced one of Australia’s largest private philanthropic donations of A$520 million, and have continued giving, with their total philanthropic donations now exceeding A$2 billion.

Dr Forrest recently completed a PhD in Marine Ecology and is passionate about ocean conservation. Prior to that he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Western Australia, is an Adjunct Professor of the Central South University in China and a lifetime Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

In 2019, he was announced as an IUCN Patron of Nature and is a member of the United Nations (UN) Environment Programme Scientific Advisory Committee on the Assessment on Marine Litter and Microplastics.

He is Co-Chairman of the Senior Business Leaders’ Forum, the leading formal dialogue for China and Australia’s most senior business leaders.

In 2017, Dr Forrest was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to the mining sector, to the development of employment and business opportunities, as a supporter of sustainable foreign investment, and to philanthropy.

He is Global Patron of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, recipient of the Australian Sports Medal and the Australian Centenary Medal, and Vice-Patron of the SAS Resources Fund.

He was a Councillor of the Global Citizen Commission, charged by the UN to modernise the Universal Declaration of Human Rights presented to the UN Secretary General in April 2016. Dr Forrest was appointed by the Prime Minister and Cabinet of Australia to Chair the Review of Indigenous Training and Employment Programmes, to end Indigenous disparity through employment with its recommendations being slowly implemented.

He was Western Australia’s 2017 Australian of the Year for his outstanding contribution to the community. In 2018, Dr Forrest was inducted into the Australian Prospectors & Miners’ Hall of Fame and was the inaugural winner of the EY Global Entrepreneur of the Year Social Impact Award.