Atlassian duo Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar near top of rich list

Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are only $1bn short of the title of the richest Australians.

Atlassian co-founders Scott Farquhar, left, and Mike Cannon-Brookes in Barcelona.

Atlassian billionaire duo Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are only $1 billion short of claiming a stunning achievement … the title of the richest Australians.

So quickly has the share price of their Nasdaq-listed software firm risen this year that the Sydney-based co-founders, both of whom don’t turn 40 until the end of the year, recently briefly had more wealth than Sydney apartment king Harry Triguboff.

And if predictions by one analyst tracking Atlassian shares comes true, Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar could potentially soon be richer than Anthony Pratt and Gina Rinehart.

Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar placed fourth and fifth on The List of Australia’s Richest 250 when it was published by The Australian in late March, with wealth of $9.01 billion each — the bulk of which is from their respective, and equal, Atlassian share holdings.

Atlassian shares keep growing and are up 45 per cent since January 1 and have more than doubled in a year.

On present calculations, Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar are each worth a whopping $12.2 billion.

At that figure, they are only just behind Triguboff, who placed third on The List with wealth of $12.31bn from his ownership of Sydney apartment giant Meriton, which also has extensive service apartment and investment property holdings.

But when Atlassian shares briefly hit an all-time high of $US131.99 ($190,30) on May 17, the share wealth of Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar hit about $12.31bn.

The duo started Atlassian in 2002 in Sydney, where the company is still based, and after they had attended the University of NSW together.

Atlassian’s collaboration and productivity software is now used by clients around the world, including the likes of NASA, ride-sharing firm Lyft and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Despite Atlassian’s great run — which extends all the way back to its Nasdaq listing at $US25 per share in December 2019, meanings its shares have increase by five times since — at least one analyst covering the stock believes it can go even higher.

And if his prediction comes true, the Atlassian duo could be Australia’s richest individuals at the relatively young age of 40.

Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss last week slapped a $US145 12-month price target on Atlassian shares, saying its expanding portfolio and recent acquisitions gives it a “unique positioning” in a growing and large information technology market.

At Weiss’s $US145 share price mark, Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar would each have a fortune of about $13.54bn.

That figure would place them above Pratt and his family’s $13.14bn and Rinehart’s $13.12bn wealth published in The List in March, though both their private company’s value could also increase. Pratt is enjoying buoyant economic conditions and expanding rapidly in the US with his Pratt Industries paper manufacturing and recycling company, while Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting would be boosted by rising iron ore prices.

Whatever happens, Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar are staying busy making deals at work and with their private investments.

Atlassian’s recent acquisitions include the $US166 million deal for planning software provider AgileCraft in March, which came before the acquisition of start-up Good Software in April. Atlassian also paid $US295m for OpsGenie last September.

Those deals and expectations of Atlassian’s revenue increasing more than 30 per cent in each of the next five years has seen its share price climb rapidly. Even Morgan Stanley’s Weiss admitted, in a note to client, that he was waiting for a more attractive entry point with the stock up so much in 2019.

But he did say the shares contained great value. “With increased confidence in the durability of the company’s top-line growth, we find it untenable to remain underweight in the shares,” Weiss wrote to clients, according to Bloomberg.

Otherwise, Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar have been steadily building up their investments in Sydney property and a series of start-ups and emerging technology companies.

Cannon-Brookes made headlines last year when he paid a record $100m for Point Piper estate Fairwater in Sydney, smashing the record set by Farquhar next door when he paid $71m for Elaine the previous year.

Double Bay has also been an attractive suburb for Cannon-Brookes, who has paid a reported combined $33m for three houses in Double Bay in recent years, including shelling out $17m for the 1923-built Verona last year.

In April, Cannon Brookes paid $12m for the Point Piper house next door to his 1.1ha Fairwater property.

In total he has paid more than $150 million for Sydney properties in about the past two years.

Farquhar, meanwhile, has stakes in start-ups such as Queensland app Start-up and recruitment platform Applied through his Skip Ventures.

Cannon-Brookes also has a series of private investments via his Grok Ventures, including the autonomous vehicle company Zoox, which is a board member of, financial education company Spriggy and home energy fintech Brighte.