Mining magnate Gina Rinehart has topped the 2025 Financial Review Rich List for the sixth consecutive year, but her wealth has dropped $2 billion to $38.11 billion.
Australia’s wealthiest 10 people control an impressive $202 billion, but this was down 9.2 per cent from $222 billion last year, mainly due to a tough year for iron ore miners like Rinehart.
The wealth of Clive Palmer, No. 5 on the Rich List, and Nicola Forrest, No. 9, also fell due to the lower price for iron ore. Despite these falls, mining remains the largest sector for wealth creation worth a collective $141.3 billion, followed by property, worth $125.8 billion.
Property scion Harry Triguboff is No. 2 on the Rich List,worth an estimated $29.65 billion, up from $26.49 billion. The third wealthiest is Anthony Pratt & family with $25.85 billion, followed by Scott Farquhar in fourth with $21.42 and Clive Palmer in fifth worth $20.12 billion. Canva founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht are ranked sixth with $14.14 billion
Australia is now home to 161 billionaires, up from 150 in 2024. NSW has the biggest share of Rich Listers – 81 – followed by Victoria with 55.
Overall, the rich are still getting richer, with this year’s list revealing the country’s 200 largest fortunes have collectively leapt 6.9 per cent. This year marks the 43rd Rich List, first published in the Business Review Weekly magazine in 1983 when the total worth of Australia’s wealthiest people was only $4.6 billion.
Marriage breakdowns have re-shaped the top Rich List rankings in 2025. Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes has dropped from the top 10 due to his separation from Annie Cannon-Brookes, while Andrew Forrest has fallen from Australia’s second-richest person in 2023 to 11th this year, overtaken by his wife Nicola, who is ranked ninth.
Of 10 debutants on this year’s Rich List, only one is a woman – Margaret Dymond, the owner of engine oil manufacturer Penrite. But, female representation overall has increased slightly from 41 last year to 42 this year.
While researching this year’s wealthiest people, Rich List editor Yolanda Redrup uncovered the highest valued self made debutant in history – Stonepeak co-founder Michael Dorrell. The fund manager had stayed under the radar while quietly building a wealth pile of $13.9 billion, making him the seventh richest person in Australia.
Based on The Australian Financial Review’s unrivalled database, the Rich List includes a record 16 billionaires in the elite “ten-digit club” – those with wealth exceeding $10 billion. Some Rich Listers have seen their wealth surge, including media, mining and construction baron Kerry Stokes (No.10) whose net worth increased by more than $1 billion year-on-year to $12.7 billion.
Rich List editor Yolanda Redrup said: “To qualify for the first Rich List in 1983, you needed a net worth of only $10 million. Today, the cut-off is a staggering $747 million. Making it onto the Rich List has never been harder, which makes the business achievements of this year’s 10 debutants even more impressive.
“But, they are far from overnight successes. It took the Dymond family 46-years to build oil and automotive products company Penrite into an industry behemoth and earn themselves a place in the top 200. Likewise, brothers Shane and David Young have been building pet shop group Petspiration since 1991. Becoming a Rich Lister takes tenacity, hard work, and in many cases, patience.”
TOP 10 (worth a collective $202 billion)
1. Gina Rinehart – $38.11 billion – Mining
2. Harry Triguboff – $29.65 billion – Property
3. Anthony Pratt & family – $25.85 billion – Manufacturing
4. Scott Farquhar – $21.42 billion – Technology
5. Clive Palmer – $20.12 billion – Mining
6. Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht – $14.14 billion – Technology
7. Michael Dorrell – $13.85 – Investment
8. Ivan Glasenberg – $13.3 billion – Mining
9. Nicola Forrest – $12.83 billion – Mining
10. Kerry Stokes – $12.69 – Media
STATE BY NUMBERS
1. NSW – 81 Rich Listers
2. VIC – 55
3. QLD – 22
4. WA – 18
5. ACT – 1
6. NT – 1
7. TAS – 1
The full Rich List will be available on www.afr.com and will appear in a special edition of The Australian Financial Review Magazine in this Friday’s Financial Review.
For further information, please contact:
Adrian Motte
Senior Communications Manager – Trade & Publishing
amotte@nine.com.au
Thursday, 29 May, 2025
