Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) shares will be on watch today.
That's because the company has just announced that its executive chairman and founder, Dr Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest, is gifting away almost $5 billion worth of shares.
What's going on with his Fortescue shares?
According to the release, Forrest has advised the company of the transfer of ownership of 220 million Fortescue shares to the Minderoo Foundation. This equates to one-fifth of the shareholding of the Forrest family holding company Tattarang.
And with the Fortescue share price currently trading at $22.40, this values the holding at $4,928 million.
To put that into context, it is more than the market capitalisation of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) or JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH).
What is Minderoo Foundation?
The release notes that the Minderoo Foundation is the philanthropic foundation of Andrew and Nicola Forrest.
It was established to support the Forrest family's commitment to transfer their wealth to charity over time and achieve the greatest leverage on their investments for local, Australian, and global public good.
At present, there appears to be no plan for the foundation to sell the Fortescue shares. Rather, it looks set to use the dividends for good. The release advises:
On current market value (close of trade 19 June 2023), the shares are worth circa A$5 billion, bringing the Foundation's endowment to approximately A$7.6 billion, and enabling the dividends to be used for philanthropy and greater public benefit.
Dr Forrest adds:
As our world faces enormous challenges, we have elected to continue to use our material wealth to help humanity and the environment meet these existential risks. Accumulating wealth should only be a small part of a person. Their contribution to their family and society is way more important. Other skills such as carpentry, farming, the arts, working in construction, or for government are equally as important. If you happen to be good at accumulating wealth, then I believe in using that skill for the greater good. This is why we will continue to donate our wealth to causes where we can make a sustainable difference.
