| Chris Ellison | |
| Birth Place: | New Zealand |
| Education: | Otago Boys' High School |
| Known For: | Founder of Mineral Resources |
| Occupation: | Entrepreneur |
Christopher James Ellison MNZM (born c. 1957) is a New Zealand entrepreneur known as the founder of Australian mining services company Mineral Resources.
Ellison was born in New Zealand. He grew up on a farm outside of Dunedin and attended Otago Boys' High School, leaving school in 1972 at the age of 15.[1]
In 1978, Ellison moved to Karratha, Western Australia, where he established rigging firm Karratha Rigging and won a contract to work on the North West Shelf Venture.[2] He was managing director until 1982, when he sold the firm to Walter Wright Industries and subsequently became general manager of its WA/NT division. In 1986 he established Genco Ltd, which was acquired by engineering firm Monadelphous Group in 1988.[3] Ellison became a substantial shareholder in Monadelphous as a result of the acquisition, but the company collapsed in the early 1990s and left him financially ruined.[2]
In 2006, Ellison and others established Mineral Resources as a merger of three mining services firms: pipeline contractor PIHA, ore-crushing firm Crushing Services International (CSI), and Process Minerals International (PMI). Ellison was a major shareholder in each of the three.[2] Mineral Resources was floated on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) in 2006 at 90 cents per share. By 2022 the company's share price had risen to an all-time high of over $71 per share, with Ellison holding around 12 percent of the company.[4]
In 2023, Ellison's compensation as managing director of Mineral Resources was AU$6 million.[5]
In 2024, Ellison attracted attention for comments he made during a financial results presentation at Mineral Resources. Opposing any form of remote work, Ellison said he wanted to "hold them [staff] captive all day long. I don’t want them leaving the building … I don’t want them walking down the road for a cup of coffee. We kind of figured out a few years ago how much that cost."
In October 2024, Ellison admitted to being involved in a tax evasion scheme.[6]
As of 2022, Ellison owned a 10 percent stake in ASX-listed rare earths explorer VHM Limited.[7] In September 2023 he was appointed non-executive chairman of ASX-listed explorer Delta Lithium Ltd after Mineral Resources acquired a controlling stake.[8]
In 2009, Ellison bought a riverside mansion in Mosman Park, Perth, for an Australian record price of $57.5 million (equivalent to $ million in). The property was bought from mining heiress Angela Bennett.[9] In 2022 he and former Mineral Resources board member Tim Roberts purchased an agricultural property near Queenstown, New Zealand, for over NZ$30 million.[10]
Ellison was appointed as New Zealand's honorary consul in Western Australia in 2013. He was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours, for "services to New Zealand–Australia relations".[11]
Ellison became a notional billionaire in 2020, when shares in Mineral Resources hit a then record high.[12]
| Year | Australian Financial Review Rich List | Forbes Australia's 50 Richest | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Net worth | Rank | Net worth | ||
| 2018[13] | $0.78 billion | ||||
| 2019[14] | $0.66 billion | ||||
| 2020[15] | $1.00 billion | ||||
| 2021[16] | $1.29 billion | ||||
| 2022 | $1.80 billion | ||||
| 2023[17] | $2.25 billion | ||||
| Legend | ||
|---|---|---|
| Icon | Description | |
| Has not changed from the previous year | ||
| Has increased from the previous year | ||
| Has decreased from the previous year | ||