The saying goes, the rich keep getting richer, and that’s certainly the case for this year’s Aussie rich list honourees. The Australian has revealed the county’s five wealthiest people in its annual rich list and it’s full of familiar names.
Mining magnate Gina Rinehart claimed the top spot this year with an estimated fortune of $36.28 billion from her Hancock Prospecting iron ore powerhouse. While Rinehart is a regular fixture on the annual rich list (last year she came in second) it’s the first time she’s topped the list to claim the title of Australia’s richest person.
The Western Australian’s personal wealth surged by $20 billion over the past year, after her company recorded a record-breaking profit of $4 billion for the 2020 financial year. The Australian noted “the soaring iron ore price, big share value increases for rival listed companies and record exports to China” all contributed to the profit jump and a sizeable payday for Rinehart.
And it seems it pays to be in mining as Rinehart’s fellow iron ore magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest came in second place. According to The Australian, his Fortescue Metals Group “has doubled in value in a year and his wealth has surged more than $16 billion to $29.61 billion”. In fact, Forrest has received more than $3 billion in dividends from FMG in the past 18 months, which no doubt influenced his decision to buy iconic Aussie brand RM Williams for $190 million last October.
Next on the list was tech giant Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes, with an estimated $21.99 billion fortune. Cannon-Brookes is the co-founder and co-CEO of the software company that boasts NASA, Tesla and SpaceX as customers. He jumped two places from last year’s rich list. Meanwhile, his co-founder Scott Farquhar wasn’t too far behind coming at a number four on the list, with an estimated $21.95 billion fortune.
Last year’s winner Anthony Pratt rounded out the top five. Pratt is the executive chairman of Visy Industries and Pratt Industries in America, which is the world’s largest privately owned packaging and paper company. Despite dropping four places, the Australian businessman still had a pretty good year, and in fact increased his personal wealth from $16.95 billion last year to $21.28 billion this year.
The Australian will publish The List – Australia’s Richest 250 on Saturday.