James Litinsky

James Litinsky is the founder and CEO of MP Materials, which owns and operates the only rare earths mine in the United States in California.

Litinsky, after receiving his J.D. and M.B.A., began his career at Fortress Investment Group before launching his own hedge fund JHL Capital Group in 2006 with $11 million in backing.

JHL acquired the mine out of bankruptcy in 2017, orchestrated a cleanup effort, and took the company public in 2020 by merging it with a SPAC

MP Materials began production at its own magnet manufacturing factory in Fort Worth, Texas in 2024, and is working to build a second factory.

The U.S. Department of Defense acquired a $400 million stake in MP Materials in June 2025 and announced a 10-year partnership for buying the company's output.