Alex Beard is the highest-ranking Glencore XStrata executive in the U.K. with an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion as of March 2013 according to Forbes. He is the 23rd richest person in the UK and is ranked 704th in the list of World Billionaires.

Born Alexander Frank Beard, he holds an MA (Hons) degree in biochemistry from Oxford. Currently, he works as the Global Head of Oil at Glencore XStrata, an Anglo-Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company based in Baar, Switzerland. This lead to his current estimated net worth of $2.1 billion.

Alex Beard started in 1995 after working for five years at BP’s Crude Oil Deparment. He was made the director of the oil commodity department in February 2007. He oversees the company’s crude oil and oil products marketing, shipping, exploration and production, and other oil-related investments.

Glencore made its Initial Public Offering (IPO) in May 2011 in dual listing, London and Hong Kong. During the posty-IPO, Beard stands to own a 4.6% stake which made him worth around $2.8 billion. This made him one of the members of the billionaires club.

Despite an almost 20% loss in the value of its shares since their public debut, there is still a bright future for Glencore. In 2012, it has announced its plan to merge with XStrata, a mining outfit. It is currently waiting for its regulatory approval in China.