Australia’s Richest 250 list: Rinehart on top, Canva and Atlassian founders drop $25 billion
Mining magnates and property barons are still doing well on The List, but technology titans like Mike Cannon-Brookes and Melanie Perkins are the big losers this year.
Forget the technology sector – there is plenty of life left yet in old-fashioned industries like mining, property and manufacturing.
Billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart tops this year’s edition of The List – Australia’s Richest 250, just ahead of other resource industry giants like Andrew Forrest and Clive Palmer.
Cardboard box manufacturer Anthony Pratt and property legend Harry Triguboff round on the top five on The List this year and have each had contrasting years compared to the one-time tech darlings.
Don’t miss your copy of The List: Australia’s Richest 250, exclusively in The Australian on Friday March 24 and online at rich250.com.au.
Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, who have spent much of the past 12 months pursuing renewable energy investments and buying huge Sydney mansions, have seen a whopping $20bn wiped from their combined fortunes.
Gone are the days when the share prices of software companies like Atlassian kept rising and rising. Atlassian shares have fallen 45 per cent in a year.
Meanwhile, Canva couple Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht have seen $5bn cut from their paper wealth as valuations of privately-held tech firms have been slashed.
Mrs Rinehart tops The List with an estimated $37.10bn fortune, much of which is due to the big success of her huge Roy Hill mine that exports more than 60 million tonnes of iron ore.
“When mining does well, Australia does well,” Mrs Rinehart said when recently unveiling a huge $3.2bn net profit for Roy Hill.
“Once again, the significant contribution Roy Hill and mining in general makes to the country has been highlighted – creating jobs and opportunities, powering the economy through Covid and contributing to health, defence, police, our elderly, infrastructure and more.”
Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting delivered another huge profit for 2022, a $5.8 billion net result, that is the basis of her wealth.
Forrest, the executive chairman of Fortescue Metals Group is second on The List with $35.21bn wealth. FMG shares are already up 7 per cent since January 1.
Pratt, who solely owns Pratt Industries in the US and Visy with his two sisters Heloise Pratt and Fiona Geminder in Australia, is third with $27.87bn.
This year, he will open his biggest ever factory, a new paper mill in Kentucky that he says will be 50 per cent bigger than any other he has built.
Pratt has also pledged to spend more than $7bn on American recycling and clean energy infrastructure to create more than 5000 manufacturing jobs in 10 years.
Meanwhile, Triguboff may have just turned 90 but he has no intention of retiring.
“Don’t worry about money. This (career) is to be enjoyed. That is why I do it,” says Triguboff, whose fortune is estimated at $23.60bn.
“My main partners have always been governments (who set planning policy) and the banks, who provide the funding. Now, I think my third partners are doctors. They keep me going, but they also keep the population going too with people living longer. That is good for our sector!”
Mining investor Clive Palmer is fifth on The list with a $20.40bn estimated fortune. Palmer spent $113m on the last federal election, though only gained one Senate seat for his United Australia Party.
But he said he intends to do it again, given he receives more than $600m annually in mining royalties and recently won a court decision that could see another $750m flow his way.
“Is it extraordinary that an Australian spends [about 10 per cent of their income on community issues? There’s not a better thing to do really to put the focus on a public policy debate – even if people don’t agree with it,” Palmer says.
The full 2022 edition of The List is published on Friday in a special issue contained in The Australian, and will reveal how long-established industries such as property, manufacturing and fashion in Australia are thriving.
It also shows the fortunes of the tech titans are still huge despite their recent losses.
Cannon-Brookes places sixth on The List with an estimated $16.06bn, just ahead of Farquhar who has $15.56bn.
Farquhar broke the Australian property record in January, when it was revealed he was shelling out $130 million to buy the Sydney harbourside home known as Uig Lodge in Point Piper.
South African born Swiss resident Ivan Glasenberg is eight with $12.43bn, mostly from his stake in global commodity giant Glencore. Glasenberg took out Australian citizenship during a stint working in Sydney for Glencore in the 1980s.
Perkins and Obrecht round out the top 10 with a combined $10.13bn fortune, down from $15.89bn in 2022.
The 2023 edition of The List – Australia’s Richest 250 is published on Friday in The Australian and online at richest250.com.au
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