Harry Triguboff, Clive Palmer, Gerry Harvey, Con Makris, Jerry Schwartz among Gold Coasters on rich list

Gold Coast developers, retailers and a high-profile mansion-owning mining magnate have been named in a list of the nation’s 200 richest people.

This basket of cash is a drop in the ocean for these rich listers.

MERITON developer and Main Beach penthouse dweller Harry Triguboff increased his wealth by $770 million in the past 12 months, but still slipped down a spot to be named Australia’s third richest person in 2019.

High-rise Harry is among a slew of full or part-time Gold Coasters to be named among the nation’s wealthiest 200 in the Financial Review Rich List.

With wealth of $15 billion, paper and packaging magnate Anthony Pratt is the nation’s richest, followed by mining magnate Gina Rinehart with $13.810 billion, property baron Hui Wing Mau with $10.390 billion and tech whiz Scott Farquhar with $9.75 billion.

Third-placed Mr Triguboff, currently building the $1 billion Ocean Tower at Surfers Paradise, placed second on last year’s list with $12.77 billion and increased his estimated wealth to $13.54 billion in 2019.

He’s considered the country’s biggest landlord, and has built many of his 65,000 apartments to rent them out, as he had largely done with his recent Sundale project in Southport.

RICH LIST GAFFE: WRONG PHOTO, INCORRECT INFO

Harry Triguboff.

2018 GOLD COAST POWER 100

Regaining the title “billionaire” in 2019 is Sovereign Islands resident Clive Palmer, set to be named at number 15 with an estimated worth of $4.09 billion — despite his $60 million spend on his latest unsuccessful political ambitions.

Mr Palmer is embroiled in numerous legal stoushes over his business dealings, ranging from his ownership of Coolum Resort and Yabulu nickel refinery to his ongoing clashes with Chinese mining company CITIC.

Although he moved his corporate headquarters to New Zealand, Mr Palmer is still a regular at Paradise Point restaurants and has continued to buy mansions on the Sovereign Islands.

Clive Palmer.

Retailer Gerry Harvey has made number 40 on the list with $1.900 billion.

Mr Harvey, of Harvey Norman fame, and wife Katie Page-Harvey, CEO of Harvey Norman, have continued to thrive despite depressed and changing retail conditions.

The couple spend much of their time in the penthouse of the beachfront Main Beach apartment building developed by Ms Page-Harvey as they tend their rapidly-expanding Magic Millions sales, races and polo events.

Gerry Harvey.

Hot on the Harveys’ heels is Tweed developer and Melba’s nightclub owner Bob Ell, with an estimated worth of $1.56 billion.

Mr Ell’s Leda Holdings owns shopping centres and other commercial properties and is still pushing to develop the vast and controversial King’s Forest estate in northern New South Wales.

Leda is also behind the lucrative Cobaki Estate development, west of Gold Coast Airport.

Bob Ell.

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Fellow property collector Con Makris and his family are 69 on the list with a worth of $1.32 billion.

The owner of Marina Mirage has been a local for more than three years after becoming frustrated with the “small-town mentality” of Adelaide where he’d spent 45 years since arriving from Greece.

Con Makris with son Jason Makris.

New Hilton Surfers Paradise owner Jerry Schwartz is 178 on the list with a worth of $554 million.

The cosmetic surgeon, who’s planning a human anatomy display, complete with plastinated bodies, for the five-star hotel, settled on the $70 million purchase earlier this month.

Dr Schwartz is Australia’s largest private hotel owner, with the Hilton his 14th.

He is son of late Hungarian immigrants Bela and Eve Schwartz, who built up a portfolio of hotels, resorts and pubs across Australia.

Dr Jerry Schwartz, who paid $70m for Hilton Surfers Paradise. Picture: Jerad Williams