twiggy has faith

THERE are few better examples of how quickly the global financial crisis has slashed on-paper wealth than that of Perth mining magnate Andrew Forrest.

Since late June, Mr Forrest has lost $11 billion -- an amount that a month earlier no Australian had ever even amassed. But he remains a billionaire -- just.

In May, Mr Forrest became the first non-Packer to top BRW's rich list in 20 years, with a rapidly accumulated fortune of $9.4 billion, all made from starting an iron ore junior five years ago.

In June, his on-paper worth peaked at $12.8 billion as Chinese steel demand boosted interest in his Fortescue Metals Group, which did not produce a pile of ore until earlier this year.

Yesterday, Mr Forrest's wealth slipped to $1.8 billion as a combination of the global credit freeze, slowing Chinese demand and mine production problems lashed Fortescue's share price.

Mr Forrest has effectively lost $84 million a day, or $3.5 million an hour, since June 24. Speaking from China yesterday, he retained the line he had taken as his fortune skyrocketed, that incredible wealth was not his goal.

"My priorities are God, family and friends," he said. Mr Forrest also moved to reassure shareholders by saying he knew Fortescue's iron ore ground in the Pilbara was more valuable than the market currently ascribed.

Mr Forrest has probably slid to fourth or below on the list of Australia's richest people, with his wealth falling below those of Frank Lowy, now No 1, James Packer and Richard Pratt.

Mr Lowy was calculated to be worth $6.3 billion in May, while Mr Packer was worth $6.1 billion.

Mr Lowy's Westfield property group has since lost about 20 per cent and, although Mr Packer's Consolidated Media and Crown casino interests have taken a bigger hit, it is not close to the 80per cent losses of Fortescue.

Mr Pratt's packaging wealth, held in a private company, is harder to gauge but it is assumed the $5.5 billion he had in May has not fallen by two-thirds.

The wealth of other top-10 rich-listers of this year, such as Harry Triguboff, John Gandel and Mr Forrest's fellow iron ore billionaire Gina Rinehart, are also held in private companies and hard to track.

Kerry Stokes, who came in at No8 in May with $2.8 billion, would have been hurt by the more than 50 per cent drop in the Seven Network's stock but buoyed by his stake in Westrac, which supplies and maintains Caterpillar trucks at mine sites.

Always upbeat about his situation, Mr Forrest yesterday deviated from the grim outlook being proffered by most miners.

He said his visit to Chinese steel mills this week had left him surprised by their willingness to buy more ore, despite Rio Tinto saying it needed to cut iron ore production due to weak demand.

While BHP Billiton, Australia's second-biggest iron ore producer, is also understood to have had deferral requests from customers, Mr Forrest said Fortescue's good relationship with Chinese mills had avoided this, and some customers wanted more ore.

Mr Forrest was adamant that his Pilbara mines, which are facing production constraints, would reach a rate of 45 million tonnes a year by the end of the month, more than double last month's rate. There would also be enough demand to ship the ore to China, he said.