SINGAPORE AND SYDNEY (February 13, 2025) – It was a bumpy year for mining fortunes that have long dominated the top ranks of Australia’s 50 richest, but tech-related business more than made up for that reduced momentum. The collective wealth of the 2025 Forbes list of Australia’s 50 Richest rose to US$243 billion, up nearly 10% from a year ago. The complete list is available at www.forbes.com/australia and www.forbes.com.au .
Mining baroness Gina Rinehart, who controls privately held Hancock Prospecting, remains the country’s richest person despite a 4% decline in her wealth to $29 billion. In recent years, Rinehart has been stepping up investments in natural gas through a series of strategic acquisitions by Hancock Energy. Her purchases included the energy assets of troubled mining firm Mineral Resources, whose founder Chris Ellison is one of three drop-offs from this year’s list.
Property magnate Harry Triguboff reclaimed the No. 2 spot after a five-year gap with a net worth of $18.8 billion, up from $16.2 billion last year. Amid a strong rental market, Triguboff’s Meriton Group is expanding its build-to-rent residential portfolio with a slate of new constructions.
Cofounders of software firm Atlassian, Mike Cannon-Brookes (No. 3, $18.3 billion) and Scott Farquhar (No. 4, $17.9 billion), moved up one spot each. They are the biggest dollar gainers this year, adding more than $4 billion apiece to their net worths. Shares of Atlassian, which says it has 300,000 customers around the world, rose after it reported a one-fifth rise in revenue to $1.3 billion in the most recent quarter.
Mining mogul Andrew Forrest slipped to fifth place as shares of his Fortescue Metals Group fell by more than a third since fortunes were last measured. His wealth, shared with his estranged wife Nicola, shrank by $5.4 billion – more than anyone in the ranks – to $16.1 billion.
Anthony Hall (No. 13, $4.5 billion) and Sam Hupert (No. 14, $4.45 billion), cofounders of Pro Medicus, a medical imaging firm, got a big boost. The biggest gainers in percentage terms this year, their wealth more than doubled in line with the surge in shares of Pro Medicus, which derives 90% of its revenue from North America.
The four new entrants include Ed Craven (No. 35, $1.8 billion) and Bijan Tehrani (No. 37, $1.75 billion), who founded and run Melbourne-based Stake.com, an offshore crypto casino. Craven, 29, and Tehrani, 31, who met online as teenagers, are the youngest on the list.
The other newcomers include the Snow family (No. 42, $1.5 billion), comprising the heirs of the late Terence Snow, the developer of Canberra Airport who died last August, and Charles Gibbon (No. 45, $1.4 billion), who invested in fellow billionaire Richard White’s (No. 7, $10.1 billion) software firm WiseTech Global two decades ago.
The minimum cutoff to be on this year’s list was $975 million, slightly lower than last year’s $1 billion.
The top 10 richest in Australia are:
- Gina Rinehart; US$29 billion
- Harry Triguboff; $18.8 billion
- Mike Cannon-Brookes; $18.3 billion
- Scott Farquhar; $17.9 billion
- Andrew Forrest & Family; $16.1 billion
- Cliff Obrecht & Melanie Perkins; $11.5 billion
- Richard White; $10.1 billion
- Anthony Pratt; $8.7 billion
- Bianca Rinehart & Siblings; $8 billion
- Frank Lowy; $7.9 billion
This list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals, stock exchanges, annual reports and analysts. The ranking lists both individual and family fortunes, including those shared among relatives. Private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly traded. Public fortunes were calculated based on stock prices and exchange rates as of January 31, 2025, and adjustments may have been made for some stocks that are thinly traded or have a low public float. The list can also include foreign citizens with business, residential or other ties to the country, or citizens who don’t reside in the country but have significant business or other ties to the country.
For more information, visit www.forbes.com/australia and www.forbes.com.au.
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