Fortunes of Australia’s richest 200 people surge to $625 billion

Gina Rinehart has been officially named the richest Australian for the fifth year running, according to the 2024 Financial Review Rich List.

Amid a cost-of-living crisis, the richest 200 people in the country grew their fortunes by 11 per cent.

Added together they now control $625 billion according to the AFR’s yearly data.

Gina Rinehart’s wealth grew by $3 billion since this time last year, thanks to a rising market valuation of her mining companies.

That makes her the first Australian ever to break the $40 billion barrier.

You can see the full breakdown on who made this year’s top ten here:

Rinehart pipped her closest rival – Meriton property mogul Harry Triguboff – by $14 billion.

Second place Triguboff is worth an estimated $26.49 billion as of today.

Joint third place goes to the tech billionaire and Rabbitoh’s co-owner Mike Cannon-Brookes, alongside his former partner Annie Cannon-Brookes. Their combined assets of $24.38 billion dollars have not yet been split up in their recent separation.

To break onto the list, the data shows you’ll need to have more than $718 million in assets and cash.

Five of the top 10 wealthiest people built their fortunes in mining, but the Australian tech sector has seen its share of the pie grow faster than any other industry.

Altogether, 28 tech moguls made the list this year, including fintech entrepreneurs and crypto gambling billionaires.

NSW remains the state that the most Rich Listers call home with 80 in total.

Female representation on the list increased to 41 place this year, up from 36 last year.

This year’s full list of millionaires and billionaires will be released in the AFR tomorrow.