200 Wealthiest Australians See Their Fortune Rising and Control a Staggering $625 Billion

The 2024 edition of the annual Rich List published by the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reveals that the 200 wealthiest Australians now control a staggering $625 billion, an 11% increase from last year’s $563 billion. This immense wealth represents roughly a quarter of Australia’s annual gross domestic product for 2023.

The rise in personal fortunes, which has been accelerating over the past four decades, is picking up pace again after a slight slowdown last ear. The first Rich List in 1983 reported total fortunes of $4.6 billion, equivalent to less than $20 billion today when adjusted for inflation.

This year’s list includes 150 billionaires. In 1983, only one group, the Murdoch family, was worth more than $200 million, and only eight individuals had fortunes exceeding $100 million.

Sources of Wealth: Mining, Property, and Finance

Australia’s billionaires increasingly derive their wealth from sectors such as mining, property, and financial speculation. Mining and property remain the primary sources, followed by tech start-ups backed by financial markets.

New entrants to this year’s list include:

• Tim Heath: an Estonian-based online gaming mogul.
• Russell Wilson: the founder of CoinSpot cryptocurrency exchange.
• Adrian Portelli: founder of the LMCT+ online promotions business.

Other notable new billionaires are crypto gambling tycoon Ed Craven and fintech entrepreneur Jack Zhang. Zhang’s company, Airwallex, offers faster payment transfers than traditional banks and is headquartered in Singapore, with its holding company in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven.

Top of the Rich List

For the fifth consecutive year, iron ore magnate Gina Rinehart tops the list with a net worth exceeding $40 billion. Despite an $800 million drop in net profits for Hancock Prospecting, her wealth increased by 8.5% due to higher valuations across the mining sector.

Others in the top 10 include:

• Ivan Glasenberg (No. 9), former CEO of Glencore.
• Clive Palmer (No. 6), who earned nearly $447 million in mining royalties last year.

These figures underscore the reliance of Australian capitalism on mining exports to China, despite escalating economic and military tensions between China and the US and its allies, including Australia.

Property Tycoons and Rising Inequality

Property magnate Harry Triguboff saw an 11% increase in his wealth to $26.5 billion despite his company, Meriton, experiencing a $30 million drop in net profits. This increase was due to his ability to profit from the build-to-rent portfolio amidst rising property management and building costs. As a result, around 2 million rental households in Australia are now experiencing negative cash flow, exacerbating the housing affordability crisis.

The Tech Sector and Rapid Wealth Accumulation

The tech sector’s prominence on the list increased from 13% to 17% of total wealth, the third highest after mining and property. Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes and his estranged wife Annie saw their combined wealth rise by over $5 billion to more than $24 billion. Eleven new individuals made the list, six of whom are already billionaires, highlighting the rapid accumulation of wealth among the ultra-rich.

Growing Inequality and Social Challenges

As the wealth of the richest Australians skyrockets, ordinary workers face unprecedented cuts to their living standards. According to ACOSS, 13.4% of Australians, or over 3 million people, live in poverty, with incomes below $489 per week for a single adult or $1,027 per week for a couple with children.

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