Saltwater billionaire
ANDREW ‘TWIGGY’ FORREST stands on a stage in front of a crowd of scientists, politicians, Traditional Owners, and the local community from the small town of Exmouth, Western Australia. Behind him is his gleaming new marine science facility, the Minderoo Foundation Exmouth Research Laboratory (MERL). Proudly, he declares it open. Although Andrew was raised on the vast Minderoo Station in the Pilbara’s red dust, the billionaire iron ore miner and founder of Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) has always had an affinity for the ocean.
When I first meet him, he slaps a couple of books down in front of me. One, by Michael Shellenberger, is entitled Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All. The US bestseller claims that climate change is real but nothing to be alarmed about. Andrew couldn’t disagree more.
“This is what we’re up against,” he says. He believes there’s never been a more crucial time to act to save our planet from further extinctions, plastic pollution, climate change–induced marine heatwaves, and ocean acidification.
Andrew’s passion for protecting marine environments stems from his memories of visiting the Ningaloo Coast as a child and seeing it change over time. He tells me his
