The new Financial Review Rich List has let some interesting tidbits drop about Australia’s super-rich, and there are plenty of surprises this year. Although the number of billionaires in the country has grown to a whopping 161 individuals (from 150 in the previous year), the collective wealth of the top 10 fell, from $222 billion to $202 billion. That’s a 9.2% fall, which is mostly attributed to fluctuations in the iron ore market impacting mining tycoons adversely.
What’s especially notable is the way family break-ups have rearranged the deck chairs for Australia’s rich and powerful. We’ve witnessed some spectacular changes in positions, with split spouses now listed as individual entries, and the geographic distribution indicates NSW is leading the charge with 81 wealthy listers, followed by Victoria with 55.
Here is the full list of who’s sitting comfortably at the top of Australia’s wealth hierarchy this year.
1. Gina Rinehart: $38.11 billion
The iron ore queen retains her stranglehold on the top position for the sixth year in a row, although her kingdom has lost $2 billion in value. Rinehart’s mining ventures remain the reason for her riches, even as iron ore prices have waned. Her industry dominance places her well out of reach of the pack, regardless of the recent fall. Mining is still the biggest wealth-creation sector in Australia, and Rinehart shows the trend to perfection – the $2 billion decline looks huge, but it hardly makes a dent in her dominant position atop Australian riches.
2. Harry Triguboff: $29.65 billion
The apartment king has enjoyed a superb year, increasing his wealth by 12% as others struggled. As owner, managing director and founder of Meriton, Australia’s biggest private apartment developer, Triguboff has accessed the nation’s continuous demand for housing like no other. While market conditions are still testing elsewhere, his insight into property cycles and development prospects has helped him to defy the trend and substantially expand his wealth when many of his wealthy peers have watched theirs decline.
3. Anthony Pratt and family: $25.85 billion
The Visy-packing dynasty has moved higher up the list, the family’s fortune increasing from $23.3 billion in 2024. Pratt added to his family’s packaging enterprise while sustaining high-profile friendships in business and politics. The family’s continued growth proves that traditional manufacturing industries can still generate enormous returns when you know how to work the system.
4. Scott Farquhar: $21.42 billion
The former Atlassian CEO has stepped back from day-to-day operations but hasn’t slowed down – he’s now chairing charity group Pledge and leading the Tech Council of Australia. Following the construction of Atlassian into a software giant with Mike Cannon-Brookes, Farquhar’s interests are now turning towards philanthropy and influencing Australia’s tech policy agenda. His enormous holding in Atlassian continues to build serious fortunes while he uses his power to advocate for things he cares about, demonstrating how Australia’s tech billionaires are growing up beyond mere money-making.
5. Clive Palmer: $20.12 billion
The brash mining tycoon rises to fifth place despite having his wealth decrease by almost 12% and his political fortunes battered in the just-concluded federal election. Palmer’s publicity-driven campaigning failed to bring out what he had hoped, but his interests in mining are strong enough to have him firmly take a seat in the top five. His capacity to hold the line and endure both wealth loss and political losses just goes to show how deep his pockets actually are – the man can take some serious blows and yet continue to swing.
6. Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht: $14.14 billion
This tech power couple has leaped four spots as their graphic design business Canva, charges ahead into AI territory, showing that Australian technology can hold its own on the world stage. The married co-founders began their business 13 years ago and have vowed to donate much of their fortune in the future – they’re part of that next generation of technology tycoons who wish to give back more than just fund their bank accounts.
7. Michael Dorrell: $13.9 billion
This year’s biggest shock – Dorrell is the most-valued entry in Rich List history. The co-founder of Stonepeak has been quietly constructing his infrastructure empire since he abandoned Macquarie in 2011, and today his firm oversees $101 billion with almost 250 employees working across global investments. Talk about flying under the radar, constructing an empire – his tale is evidence that not all wealth building occurs in the limelight, and occasionally, the best money moves are made when no one’s paying attention.
8. Ivan Glasenberg: $13.85 billion
The ex-Glencore CEO jumps to a position even as his fortune falls from $14.86 billion, which says something about the trouble that everyone else has had. As the largest shareholder in the commodity trading behemoth, his fortune tracks with global commodity prices, and those markets have been quite crazy in recent times. Glasenberg’s ongoing presence at one of the globe’s largest commodity traders has him wired into global trading relationships that stretch across several continents, so when trade flows around the world change, he feels the impact straight in his bank account.
9. Nicola Forrest: $12.83 billion
In one of the most spoken-about wealth changes of the year, Nicola now tops her estranged husband Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest, who’s fallen from second position in 2023 all the way down to 11th. From their 2023 split, she came away with control of slightly more Fortescue shares than he, creating one of the most sensational wealth redistributions in Australian wealthy list history. Although their relationship broke up, both of them continue to collaborate on their Minderoo Foundation philanthropic efforts.
10. Kerry Stokes: $12.69 billion
West Australian media tycoon completes the top 10, operating Seven West Media and Seven Group Holdings and spearheading his state’s phenomenal wealth creation. Stokes’ breaking into the exclusive top 10 club is an indication of just how much Western Australia over-achieves – the state has 18 individuals on the wider rich list, which isn’t bad for a state with fewer than 3 million inhabitants. His combination of media clout and diversified business interests demonstrates that the old-fashioned strategy of spreading your bets across multiple industries can still pay off handsomely.
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