Robert Friedland Net Worth

Robert Friedland has an estimated net worth of $2.8 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Robert Friedland profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $1.2 billion in 2018.

Robert Friedland is a mining financier and entrepreneur known for building companies around mineral projects. He founded Ivanhoe Capital Corporation and later became founder and executive cochairman of Toronto-listed Ivanhoe Mines. Since the early 1980s, he has focused on raising funding for exploration, mine development, energy resources and technology ventures. His business work has centered on emerging markets, with Singapore serving as a base for Ivanhoe Capital and its Asia Pacific focus.

He became widely known in mining through a series of large projects and company deals. He founded the original Ivanhoe Mines as Indochina Goldfields in 1994 and led it to a Toronto Stock Exchange listing in 1996. Exploration work since 2000 found the Oyu Tolgoi copper, gold and silver deposits in Mongolia, with commercial production starting in 2013. He also chaired Diamond Fields Resources, which was acquired for $4.3 billion, and Peregrine Diamonds, which De Beers Group bought in 2018 for around $80 million.

How Robert Friedland makes money

Friedland’s wealth comes mainly from mining. He founded Ivanhoe Mines and serves as executive cochairman, with the company advancing projects in Southern Africa tied to copper and other metals. Forbes says his fortune is linked to mining, and its profile highlights his work finding profitable mines in remote places such as Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia. He also built Ivanhoe Capital, a private firm that works in capital markets and invests in emerging markets.

His business interests go beyond one company. Forbes notes that he has a stake in Australia-listed Sunrise Energy Metals, formerly Clean TeQ Holdings, which supplies cobalt and nickel to lithium-ion battery producers. It also says Ivanhoe Atlantic, formerly High Power Exploration, plans to invest $5 billion in infrastructure projects in Africa’s Liberty Corridor connecting Guinea to Liberia. Outside mining, he owns Ivanhoe Pictures, which merged with Sidney Kimmel Entertainment to create SK Global.

Forbes net worth and recent money moves

Forbes estimated Friedland’s net worth at $3.6 billion on the 2026 World’s Billionaires List. Forbes also shows $2.8 billion on its real-time billionaires tracker as of October 20, 2026. Those estimates line up with a fortune tied to mining assets, stakes in related companies and long-running project development. His holdings include Ivanhoe Mines, Sunrise Energy Metals and other ventures connected to metals, energy and infrastructure.

A few career events help explain why his finances have stayed in focus. The original Ivanhoe Mines reached a public listing in 1996, and the Oyu Tolgoi project moved into commercial production in 2013. Friedland also benefited from major transactions, including the $4.3 billion sale of Diamond Fields Resources and the 2018 sale of Peregrine Diamonds for around $80 million. Those deals sit alongside his continuing role in mine development and project financing.