Iron mining magnate Gina Rinehart has once again affirmed her place at the top of the Australian wealth pile.
That's according to the Australian Financial Review (AFR) Rich List, which is published annually.
The AFR has released a 'sneak peek' at the top 10 list before the entire thing is released on Friday.
It shows Rinehart coming in as the richest Aussie for the second year in a row, with a fortune of $31.06 billion. That's up a casual few billion from the $28.89 billion she was worth on the 2020 list.
Even more interesting is the fact Rinehart would have been worth more than $40 billion – three times the $13.8 billion she was worth in 2019 – if the analysis had been done earlier this month when iron ore was fetching a record high of US$240 per tonne. It's asking US$172 a tonne today.
Rinehart is the head of Hancock Prospecting, one of the few privately owned iron ore miners in the country.
Iron ore remains the best route to the top of the Rich List, it seems.
Taking the number 2 spot is Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) boss Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest, with an estimated net worth of $27.25 billion.
That's also up substantially from the $23 billion he was worth in 2020.
Outside iron ore, the richest Aussies are…
Atlassian Corporation PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM) founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar take the third and fifth spots, with net worths of $20.18 billion and $20 billion, respectively.
Anthony Pratt and the Pratt family are at number 4 with $10.09 billion. Pratt is head of the private packaging company Visy, which was founded by his late father Richard.
Property magnate Harry Triguboff, of Meriton, takes the sixth spot with an estimated net worth of $17.27 billion.
Clive Palmer is also featured at number 7. His net wealth is estimated at $13.01 billion, up substantially from 2020's $9.18 billion.
Hui Wing Mau, a Hong Kong property developer, is the only Rich Lister in the top 10 to see their net wealth fall in 2021.
He is still one of the richest Aussies in the country, worth $11.7 billion. But that's a hefty backwards step from the $18.06 billion he was worth in 2020.
Frank Lowy remains a top-10 fixture, long after his family's exit from the old Westfield family business. This is currently represented by both Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW) on the ASX.
Finally, we have Canva founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht taking out the 10th spot. These billionaires are worth a collective $7.98 billion in 2021, well up from 2020's $3.43 billion.
Something to aspire to for the rest of us!
