Harry Triguboff claims title as Australia’s richest from Gina Rinehart

Gina Rinehart has lost her place as Australia’s richest person, with a major property name taking over.

Harry Triguboff, right, has assumed the title of Australia’s richest person.

Gina Rinehart has lost her crown as Australia’s richest person to property heavyweight Harry Triguboff due to a bitter court battle with her two eldest children and plunging iron ore prices.

The mining magnate’s wealth more than halved to $6.06 billion in the year to May, pushing her down to fourth on the latest BRW 200 Rich List after five years at the top.

Ms Rinehart’s eldest daughter Bianca made the list for the first time after taking ownership of 23 per cent of Hancock Prospecting as a result of the family’s legal battle.

Bianca Rinehart’s wealth of $905 million put her at 60th on the list.

Her mother’s fortune also continues to be dented by the 75 per cent drop in iron ore prices over the past three years.

Ms Rinehart’s successor as the nation’s richest person, property developer Mr Triguboff, saw his wealth hit $10.6bn as the property boom caused the value of his Meriton Group to skyrocket. John Stensholt, BRW Rich 200 list editor, said Mr Triguboff finally takes the top spot after making the list in each of its 33 years.

Anthony Pratt and his family are ranked second with wealth of $10.35bn, thanks to the success of its US-based packaging business, Pratt Industries.

The company is the biggest Australian-owned employer in the US, and its value is soaring after the opening of a giant new box factory near Chicago, according to BRW.

Frank Lowy, the founder of shopping centre behemoth Westfield, added about $480m to his value in the year thanks to the group’s strong sharemarket performance, taking his value to $8.26bn.

Melbourne property developer John Gandel rounds out the top five, with his wealth improving by about $1bn — the biggest rise on the list — to $5.4bn.

He owns a 50 per cent stake in Chadstone Shopping Centre, the largest in the southern hemisphere.

Casino businessman James Packer was another to tumble down the list, his wealth shrinking to $5bn due to a fall in Crown Resorts’ market value and a legal settlement that saw his sister Gretel Packer debut on the list.

Ahead of Mr Packer at number six is Chinese property player Hui Wing Mau, who received citizenship after studying in Australia in the nineties. His wealth was pegged at $5.39bn.

Outspoken local iron ore player Andrew Forrest came in after Mr Packer at eight. The founder and chairman of Fortescue Metals reportedly has wealth of $3.33bn.

He came in fractionally ahead of another prominent mining figure in Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg, although Mr Glasenberg’s wealth was tagged at $3.33bn as well.

The top 10 was completed by TPG Telecom boss David Teoh and his wife Vicky, who manage wealth of around $3.08bn.

Australia now boasts a record 53 billionaires, thanks largely to the property boom.

More than a quarter of those on the list made the majority of their fortune in property, which has come under the spotlight in recent months because of fears the bubble will burst.

“Many on the list that have made money in other industries have poured the proceeds into property development or management businesses,” BRW said.

Among the four new billionaires added to the list was toy makers Manny Stul and his family, who rank 39th with a value of $1.24bn.

Jonathan Munz, whose family recently floated plumbing manufacturer Reliance Worldwide on the sharemarket, was another new entry, coming in at 50th with a $1.07bn in wealth.

With AAP