This CEO made $250 million in lithium. This is where he invests next
“I thought, ‘Oh, okay. The good God has given me some shocking moments’, and I thought, this is one of them.” Reed capitalized on his luck, making a very early and very recent investment in an Australian lithium mine close to his hometown of Kalgoorlie. The investment in the Mt Marion mine, now run by Chinese giant Ganfeng and Mineral Resources Chris Ellison, followed a timely exit to deliver a small return on Neometals and its shareholders. He made nearly a quarter billion dollars from the mines on a $2 million investment. After some generous dividends, the wealth left over has since been pumped into several clean energy processing projects, most notably the creation of a patented process for recycling lithium-ion batteries with a low carbon footprint. Mercedes-Benz gave Reed a 50th birthday present earlier this year, when they came knocking on his door wanting to get their hands on a patented battery recycling process. Mercedes-Benz reached a preliminary agreement with Neometals an