$10bn club doubles with Andrew Forrest, Atlassian duo

Two areas of wealth generation have driven six Australians to a new echelon.

Andrew Forrest, chairman and founder of Fortescue Minerals, has hit the $10bn mark. Picture: Britta Campion

Six Australians are now members of the $10 billion club, as surging iron ore prices and the tech boom drives the wealth of the country’s elite to unprecedented levels.

Three billionaires have increased their fortune by almost $10bn combined in less than three months, calculations by The Aust­ralian reveal.

On Friday, mining magnate Andrew Forrest become the latest billionaire to have his wealth hit the $10bn mark, as shares in his Fortescue Metals Group hit their highest levels for 11 years.

The price of iron ore rose more than 10 per cent last week to a five-year high of $US110.20 ($160.30) a tonne, lighting a spark under Fortescue’s share price. Mr Forrest­’s company, of which he remains the major shareholder with more than a billion shares, increased in value by 12.2 per cent across the week, meaning the billionaire’s paper wealth increased by $1bn in just five days.

His share wealth in Fortescue is worth close to $9.7bn. His other holdings — which include cash, property and extensive agriculture assets, including the Harvey Beef and Harvest Road brands — push his estimated fortune past the $10bn mark. It means the $10bn club has doubled in membership since the end of March, when the inaugural edition of The List — Australia’s Richest 250 was published by The Australian.

The List was headed by cardboard­ manufacturing and recyclin­g magnate Anthony Pratt and his family with wealth of $13.14bn, just ahead of mining billionaire Gina Rinehart at $13.12bn.

The only other billionaire near that level of wealth was Sydney apartments king Harry Triguboff, who placed third on The List with wealth of $12.31bn.

But a little over 10 weeks later, three other billionaires are now worth more than $10bn — for the first time in Australian history.

Where the $10 billion club gets its money from.

The 39-year-old founders of software firm Atlassian, Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquh­ar, have seen their wealth hit about $12.2bn, up from $9.01bn when The List was published.

Atlassian’s shares on the NASDAQ­ in the US have been on a tear this year, rising by more than 45 per cent since January 1.

The shares recently hit an all-time high of $US131.48, meaning the duo were briefly richer on paper than Mr Triguboff. Atlas­sian makes software products to help collaboration in workplaces.

One analyst tracking Atlassian in the US has a 12-month price forecast of $US145 on the stock, a level that if achieved would see Mr Cannon-Brookes and Mr Farquhar­’s wealth hit $13.5bn.

Atlassian shares have doubled in the past 12 months.

Fortescue shares, meanwhile, have more than doubled since the start of the year. Mr Forrest’s wealth has increased by more than $4bn in that time.

The spot price of iron ore has increased by more than 50 per cent this year, meaning the share price of many mining companies has surged in the past few months.

It is also likely to mean Mrs Rinehart’s wealth, almost all of which is tied to her Hancock Prospecting mining company, will increase, though calculations are dependent on the level of profitability at her huge Roy Hill mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara.

But Mr Pratt’s wealth is also likely to have increased, with his Visy dominating the Australian paper market and his Pratt Industries growing quickly in the US. Pratt will open another huge paper mill in Ohio late this year, which is likely to provide a consider­able boost to his company’s profits — and his wealth.