- Gina Rinehart has once again defended her title against the other richest people in Australia, claiming top spot according to the 2025 AFR Rich List.
- This marks her sixth running year on the gilded throne, in defiance of market headwinds faced by iron ore.
- Among Australia’s 200 richest individuals, mining remains the largest sector for wealth creation, worth a collective $141.3 billion (-4.6%), followed by property at $125.8 billion (5.5%).
AFR’s annual ranking of the richest people in Australia seldom offers any surprises.
For the sixth consecutive year, mining magnate Gina Rinehart has been crowned the country’s richest person by The Australian Financial Review, despite the 6% drop in her $38.1 billion fortune due to decreasing iron ore prices.
The commodity’s recent performance has similarly impacted the wealth of Rinehart’s rival rich listers Clive Palmer (#5) and Nicola Forrest (#9).
In 2025, the closest competition to Rinehart – who inherited Australia’s largest private mining company from her father Lang Hancock (a man featured in the inaugural AFR Rich List and effectively ensured his lineage was a fixture ever since) – is Meriton founder Harry Triguboff with an estimated net worth of $29.7 billion; followed by packaging don Anthony Pratt and his family at $25.9 billion.
What’s impacted the 2025 standings more than iron ore prices is divorce. At least for the Top 10.
RELATED: How Much Money Do You Need To Be Considered Rich In Australia?
Given the decision to divide their fortune, Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes and his estranged wife have fallen out of the upper bracket. Fellow Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar, however, remains both married and at #4 with $21.4 billion.
The same deal applies to Dr Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, another notable absence from the Top 10 after years of challenging Gina Rinehart. Though, as alluded to earlier, ex-wife Nicola still made the cut with her own $12.8 billion.
Thankfully for Canva’s Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, their marriage seems as rock steady as their #6 position and collective $14.1 billion fortune. Which they intend to give away “at least half” under The Giving Pledge.
The only real eyebrow-raising detail involves Michael Dorrell. The co-founder of infrastructure asset manager Stonepeak claimed an impressive #7 position in his first year of being Rich List-worthy, inking a page in ranking history as the highest self-made debutant.
Check out the richest people in Australia below, as per the 2025 AFR Rich List.
- Gina Rinehart (Resources) – $38.1 billion
- Harry Triguboff (Property) – $29.7 billion
- Anthony Pratt & Family (Manufacturing) – $25.9 billion
- Scott Farquhar (Technology) – $21.4 billion
- Clive Palmer (Resources) – $20.1 billion
- Melanie Perkins & Cliff Obrecht (Technology) – $14.1 billion
- Michael Dorrell (Finance) – $13.9 billion
- Ivan Glasenberg (Resources) – $12.20 billion
- Nicola Forrest (Resources) – $12.8 billion
- Kerry Stokes (Media) – $12.7 billion
Keep an eye out for the full list of Australia’s 200 richest people when it’s released here, courtesy of The Australian Financial Review.
