Gina Rinehart is still Australia’s wealthiest woman, property is the best way to make money and the rich keep getting richer with most people on the list carry over champs from last year.
Gina Rinehart falls by $5.99 billion to $14.02 billion, due to a fall in the iron ore price and price earnings ratios of key competitors. Rinehart’s wealth may fall in the short-term as commodity prices remain depressed though it is expected her huge Roy Hill project in Western Australia will start shipping iron ore this year.
Anthony Pratt and family are in second spot after a $3.02 billion rise in wealth. It has been a big 12 months for the family. Anthony’s US-based business, Pratt Industries, is the biggest Australian-owned employer in the United States.
Sydney apartment developer Harry Triguboff has enjoyed the biggest rise in wealth on the list, $4.73 billion, to have total wealth of $10.23 billion. Surging property prices in a hot market has given Triguboff’s wealth its big boost.
Fourth-ranked Frank Lowy has grown his wealth by $700 million, after the restructure of Westfield was backed by the sharemarket in the past year. Lowy now has a total wealth of $7.84 billion.
Hong-Kong based billionaire Hui Wing Mau rounds out the top five. Hui earned an MBA at the University of South Australia in the early 1990s and has Australian citizenship. His Shimao Property Holdings has extensive projects in China and also holds Sydney CBD office property.
The highest ranked debutants are Leonie Baldock and Alexandra Burt (#22 and #23) with combined wealth of $1.7 billion. Baldock and Burt are the daughters of the late Michael Wright, the son of prospector Peter – one-time business partner of Lang Hancock, Gina Rinehart’s father.
Another notable debutant is Tony Denny (#179), who debuts with $320 million wealth. Denny left Australia after the 1987 stockmarket crash and has made his fortune selling used cars in central Europe with his AAA Autos business.
There are 49 billionaires on this year’s list – the most ever. They include 35 year olds Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar. They are the founders of software company Atlassian and are worth a combined $2.27 billion. Atlassian could be headed for a stockmarket listing later in the year, which could add to the pair’s wealth.
Several billionaires have suffered falls in wealth, including Andrew Forrest and James Packer. Shares in Forrest’s iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group have fallen in the past year, causing Forrest’s wealth to drop to $2.83 billion from $5,86 billion a year ago. He is in ninth (#9) on the list.
Packer’s wealth has also fallen due to a drop in share price for his Crown Resorts casino and entertainment group. He is in seventh (#7) position on the list with $6.08 billion wealth, down from $7.19 billion a year ago.
Property remains the dominant sector. Of the 200 people on the list, 53 make most of their money in the property sector. Many on the list that have made money in other industries have poured the proceeds into property development or management businesses.
Top 5
Name Wealth ($m) Industry
Gina Rinehart – $14,018 – Resources
Anthony Pratt & family – $10,759 – Manufacturing, Investment
Harry Triguboff – $10,228 – Property
Frank Lowy – $7,837 – Property, Investment
Hui Wing Mau – $6,890 – Property
Industries – Top 5
Property
Retail
Financial Services
Resources
Rural
Top 4 women
Gina Rinehart – $14.02 billion
Vicky Teoh – $2.31 billion*
Leonie Baldock, Alexandra Burt – $1.7 billion
Angela Bennett – $1.54 billion
Top 5 men
Anthony Pratt & family – $14.76 billion
Harry Triguboff – $10.22 billion
Frank Lowy – $7.87 billion
Hui Wing Mau – $6.89 billion
Ivan Glasenberg – $6.14 billion
Overseas Top 5
Hui Wing Mau – $6.89 billion (Hong Kong)
Ivan Glasenberg – $6.14 billion (Switzerland)
Michael Hintze – $1.75 billion (London)
Huang Bingwen & family – $1.50 billion (China)
Ye Lipei – $1.26 billion (China)
A partial list will be published online at BRW.com.au today and the full list will go live at 6am tomorrow.
