Gina Rinehart has managed to retain her status as Australia's richest person, despite having lost nearly $6 billion of her wealth since the same BRW Rich List was released one year ago.
Rinehart's wealth plunged from $20 billion to 'just' $14.02 billion as a result of the plummeting iron ore price, which has impacted her Roy Hill mine project, while the NSW Supreme Court's recent decision to award control of her $5 billion family trust to her estranged daughter Bianca could see that wealth decline again.
A record 49 billionaires made the list (up from 39 a year ago) while the average wealth amongst the top 200 reached $974.7 million, which was marginally higher than the $968 million recorded in 2014 while total wealth hit a remarkable $195.9 billion.
The following billionaires round out Australia's top-10 rich list:
- Gina Rinehart
- Anthony Pratt & Family – worth $10.76 billion, up from $7.64 billion in 2014. This came as a result of strong business conditions in the United States
- Harry Triguboff – the property developer nearly doubled his wealth, hitting $10.23 billion thanks to a strong property market
- Frank Lowy – chairman of Westfield Corp Ltd (ASX: WFD), Lowy's wealth ballooned out to $7.84 billion
- Hui Wing Mau – has made his $6.89 billion fortune in the Shanghai and Beijing property markets
- Ivan Glasenberg – is the chief executive of mining giant Glencore Xstrata, worth a massive $6.14 billion. That's down from $6.63 billion in 2014.
- James Packer – Was third on the list last year but a significant fall in Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) share price saw his wealth drop to $6.08 billion.
- John Gandel – Gandel, who is worth $4.4 billion, is the largest shareholder in Novion Property Group (ASX: NVN) and jointly owns the gigantic Chadstone Shopping Centre, located in the south-east of Melbourne.
- Andrew Forrest – Like Packer, Forrest has slid down the list due to a 46% decline in Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) shares over the last 12 months. His wealth has more than halved since 2014.
- Stan Perron – rounds out the top 10 list with a fortune of $2.65 billion, up from 11th position in 2014.
