As of March 2013, Robert Friedland has an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion that he earned as an international financier and major player in the junior mining industry. According to Forbes.com, he is #831 in the World Billionaires List (#546 in 2012), #279 in the United States, and #347 in the Forbes 400 List. Born Robert Martin Friedland on August 18, 1950 in Chicago, Illinois, he was expelled from Bowden College in 1970. Federal authorities arrested him for the possession of an estimated $100,000 worth of LSD. He served two years in federal prison. In 1974, he graduated with a degree in political science from Reed College in Oregon.

Friedland began earning his fortune after he stumbled on a large deposit at Voisey’s Bay in Canada. In 1996, he sold the nickel-rich property to Canadian miner Inco for a reported $3.1 billion. He is the founder of Ivanhoe Mines. In 2009, he sold the Ivanhoe Energy’s oil and gas operations to STurqoiueneca Resources Corporation for $40 million. After he lost Ivanhoe Mines, he has shown interest in the international business setting. In 2012, Rio Tinto, a mining group, took majority control of the company. He was forced to step down as CEO in April. By August, the company’s name was changed to Turquoise Hill Resources.

In February of the same year, Robert Friedland held a private offering for Ivanplats, his Africa-based mining operation where he was the founder and chairman, on the Toronto Stock Exchange despite what happened. He has raised more than $300 million.