We Aussies like to gaze upon the richest people in our country with what I suspect are mixed emotions. There might be pride and respect, but also some curiosity, perhaps even a little jealousy and (in some cases) outright resentment.
After all, we are a country known for its love of egalitarianism and occasional enforcement of the tall poppy syndrome.
But that doesn't change the fact that there is an enormous amount of wealth concentrated among our richest people.
Every year, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) catalogues our richest residents in its Rich List. Well, its latest edition has just been revealed, and it makes for some interesting reading. So let's check out our richest citizens, and what ASX shares they own (if any).
Australia's richest people revealed
Here are the current richest ten Aussies and what the AFR estimates are their net worth:
- Gina Rinehart with a net worth of $34.02 billion, up from $31.06 billion in 2021
- Andrew Forrest with a net worth of $30.72 billion, up from $27.25 billion in 2021
- Mike Cannon-Brookes with a net worth of $27.83 billion, up from $20.18 billion in 2021
- Scott Farquhar with a net worth of $26.41 billion, up from $20 billion in 2021
- Anthony Pratt and family with a net worth of $24.3 billion, up from $20.09 billion in 2021
- Harry Triguboff with a net worth of $21.25 billion, up from $17.27 billion in 2021
- Clive Palmer with a net worth of $19.55 billion, up from $13.01 billion in 2021
- Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht with a net worth of $13.8 billion, up from $7.98 billion in 2021
- Ivan Glasenberg with a net worth of $12.2 billion, up from $7.39 billion in 2021
- Frank Lowy with a net worth of $9.27 billion, up from $8.51 billion in 2021
So that's Australia's richest 10 people as it currently stands.
It's the third year Gina Rinehart has topped the list in a row, so she must be feeling pleased as punch.
However, according to the report, this is only due to the recent slump in the Atlassian plc (NASDAQ: TEAM) share price. Atlassian shares have fallen more than 50% over 2022 so far. If the company had stayed at its older valuations, co-founders Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar would be sitting at the top of the list today.
Why no ASX shares for the richest Aussies?
Interestingly though, Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar are among only a few rich listers to actually derive their wealth from publically-listed shares. Atlassian trades on the US markets.
Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest is another one. His famous stake in Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) keeps him in second place. But Gina Rinehart's company Hancock Prospecting is private, meaning there are no ASX shares for mere mortals like you or me to trade alongside her with.
It's a similar story with Anthony Pratt's packaging and recycling giant Visy Industries, which is also private. And ditto with the tech company Canva, which was founded by married couple Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht.
Again, Clive Palmer (of recent political fame) derives most of his wealth from the private company Mineralogy. As does Harry Triguboff from private property giant Meriton.
It seems our richest people don't necessarily hold too much faith in owning large swathes of public ASX shares.
