U.S. Rare Earths Mine Made James Litinsky Rich: Forbes Daily

Money manager James Litinsky first visited the Mountain Pass rare earths mine in 2015 because he was worried about the $40 million his hedge fund had sunk into distressed bonds issued by mine owner Molycorp, Forbes Daily reported.

Thanks to his gamble, the 46-year-old Litinsky is worth at least $400 million. I Photo: MP Materials

He came away stunned by the enormity of the site in the mountains above California’s Mojave Desert and its status as the only US source for certain strategic metals.

A few months later, Molycorp filed for bankruptcy, and Litinsky went on to make a risky play to salvage both the mine and his investors’ money. China mines and refines 80% of the world’s rare earths.

Litinsky shrewdly calculated he could count on federal support if he went into the rare earths business—which indeed he has received, to the tune of $105 million from both the Trump and Biden administrations.

Perhaps more surprising is the degree of assistance he has received from the Chinese, who have helped him finance and rebuild the Mountain Pass site.

The gamble has paid off, making the 46-year-old Litinsky worth at least $400 million, Forbes estimates.

He has wound down JHL Capital Group, his Chicago-based hedge fund, and now spends his days as CEO of MP Materials, which operates the now-thriving Mountain Pass mine.

MP is spending some $200 million to build the nation’s first new supermagnet plant in decades in Fort Worth, Texas, which will transform rare earth oxides into 1,000 tons per year of the strongest magnets on earth. MP already has a contract to sell magnets to General Motors for use in electric vehicles.