Trading risks reap rewards

THE richest and most successful Australian you’ve never heard of makes money from foreign exchange and cryptocurrency trading, lives in a luxury Cyprus marina and recently got a whopping $906m dividend payment. IC Markets founder Andrew Budzinski is the 46-yearold head of what claims to be the world’s largest forex broker operating in 200 countries.

Mr Budzinski’s privately held company has racked up almost $1bn in net profits in three years, making money from its clients trading in the risky financial derivatives known as CFDs, taking positions on currency movements and other commodities, stocks, indices, bonds and cryptocurrency instruments.

Mr Budzinski (pictured) formed IC Markets in 2007. It has its headquarters in Sydney, though he now lives in a luxury marina in Cyprus.

“Australians are now trading more cryptocurrencies and stocks more than ever,” Mr Budzinski said.

“We have seen a significant uptick in cryptocurrency and stock trading as customers seek returns from alternative asset classes and take advantage of strong global stock markets.”

IC Markets claimed a total of $9.32 trillion was traded on its platforms in 2021.

The company also sponsored the English cricket team this summer.