Sluggish global markets, high inflation, high cost of living and a heated property market mean our finances are constantly shifting.
And even billionaires aren’t immune.
Forbes released its annual rich list for 2024 earlier this year, where it showed that there are more billionaires than ever - at 2,781 people across the globe in total, that’s 141 more than last year.
But a lot has changed since March and the rankings have shifted, in some cases quite dramatically.
Here’s a rundown of who the richest people are now.
How do Australia’s billionaire’s rank?
While all these numbers are interesting, what we really want to know is where our richest Australians ranked.
In total, 48 Australians currently sit on the list of the world’s richest, although only 4 made the elusive top 200.
This is on par with the 48 Aussies which made the list of the world's richest, although previously there were 5 billionaires in the global elusive top 200.
Billionaires in the mining, software and manufacturing industries feature heavily, but also retail, casino, investment, construction, real estate businessmen and women make the list.Australia’s iron ore mining magnate and heiress Gina Rinehart holds onto the top spot as Australia’s richest citizen, ranking in 56th place on the global list thanks to her $31.4 billion net worth.
The 70-year-old built her wealth on iron ore after rebuilding her late-father’s financially distressed company Hancock Prospecting, and is also Australia’s second-largest cattle producer.
She sits far ahead of the next Australian on the list, Harry Triguboff in 111th place and a $16.9 billion fortune under his belt.
Harry, who was born in Dalian, China to Russian parents, came to Australia as a teenager and is now managing director of real estate group Meriton, also known as ‘high-rise Harry’.
In third place is Andrew Forrest & family in 139th place globally.
The 62-year-old businessman founded Fortescue Metals Group and invests in many sustainable energy projects.
His net worth currently sits at $14.4 billion, a drop from the $19 billion recorded earlier this year.
In fourth place is Richard White, sneaking into the elusive top 200 in 199th place thanks to his 11.2 billion fortune.
Interestingly, Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes and Mike Farquar have dropped down to sixth and seventh place (from fourth and fifth earlier this year).
Their net worths have dropped to $10.9 billion and $10.5 billion respectively, from $13.3 billion and $13.0 billion respectively.
The Sydney-based duo started their software firm soon after graduating from college, funding it with credit cards.
Here’s the full list:
| Name | Global Rank | Net Worth | Industry | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gina Rinehart | 56 | $31.4 B | Mining |
| 2 | Harry Triguboff | 111 | $16.9B | Real Estate |
| 3 | Andrew Forrest & Family | 139 | $14.4 B | Mining |
| 4 | Richard White | 199 | $11.2 B | Software |
| 5 | Anthony Pratt | 205 | $11.2 B | Manufacturing |
| 6 | Mike Cannon-Brookes | 211 | $10.9 B | Software |
| 7 | Scott Farquhar | 233 | $10.5 B | Software |
| 8 | Vivek Chaand Sehgal | 340 | $8.3 B | Auto parts |
| 9 | Kerry Stokes | 444 | $6.8 B | Construction equipment, media |
| 10 | Frank Lowy | 481 | $6.5 B | Shopping malls |
| 11 | Melanie Perkins | 777 | $4.4 B | Software |
| 11 | Cliff Obrecht | 777 | $4.4 B | Software |
| 12 | Clive Palmer | 788 | $4.4 B | Mining |
| 13 | John Gandel | 909 | $3.8 B | Real Estate |
| 14 | Jack Cowin | 1049 | $3.3 B | Food & beverage |
| 15 | Anthony Hall | 1092 | $3.1 B | Technology |
| 16 | Sam Hupert | 1103 | $3.1 B | Technology |
| 17 | Lindsay Fox | 1123 | $3.0 B | Logistics, real estate |
| 18 | James Packer | 1164 | $2.9 B | Casinos |
| 19 | Bruce Wilson | 1178 | $2.9 B | Retail |
| 20 | Alan Wilson | 1180 | $2.9 B | Retail |
| 20 | John Wilson | 1180 | $2.9 B | Retail |
| 21 | Michael Hintze | 1252 | $2.7 B | Investment |
| 22 | Solomon Lew | 1285 | $2.7 B | Retail |
| 23 | Fiona Geminder | 1398 | $2.4 B | Manufacturing |
| 24 | Bob Ell | 1438 | $2.3 B | Real estate |
| 25 | Brett Blundy | 1439 | $2.3 B | Retail, agribusiness |
| 26 | Cameron Adams | 1535 | $2.2 B | Software |
| 27 | Gerry Harvey | 1567 | $2.2B | Retail |
| 28 | John Hancock | 1589 | $2.1B | Mining |
| 29 | Ginia Rinehart | 1600 | $2.1B | Mining |
| 30 | Bianca Rinehart | 1607 | $2.1B | Mining |
| 30 | Hope Welker | 1607 | $2.1B | Mining |
| 31 | Michael Heine | 1683 | $2.0 B | Finance & investments |
| 32 | Heloise Pratt | 1723 | $1.9 B | Manufacturing, investment |
| 33 | David Teoh | 1811 | $1.8 B | Telecom |
| 34 | Terry Snow | 1830 | $1.8 B | Real Estate |
| 35 | Gretel Packer | 1884 | $1.7 B | Finance & investments |
| 36 | Sam Chong | 1906 | $1.7 B | Mining |
| 37 | John Van Lieshout | 2063 | $1.6 B | Real estate |
| 38 | Chris Wallin | 2140 | $1.5 B | Mining |
| 39 | Mario Verrocchi | 2176 | $1.5 B | Retail |
| 40 | Angela Bennett | 2335 | $1.3 B | Mining |
| 41 | Ed Craven | 2375 | $1.3 B | Entrepreneur |
| 42 | Sam Tarascio | 2382 | $1.3 B | Real estate |
| 43 | Bruce Mathieson | 2390 | $1.3 B | Hotels |
| 44 | Nigel Austin | 2399 | $1.3 B | Retail |
| 45 | Manny Stul | 2532 | $1.2 B | Manufacturing |
Source: Forbes, 2024
Top 10 richest on the planet
Forbes real-time billionaire list shows that, right now, the world’s richest billionaires comprise many well-known names - Elon Musk continues to keep hold of the crown, thanks to his $251.1 billion fortune.
Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett all also make the top 10 in second, fourth, sixth and seventh place respectively.
Here’s the full top 10 list:
| Name | Net Worth | Source | Country>/th> | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elon Musk | $251.1 B | Tesla, SpaceX | United States |
| 2 | Jeff Bezos | $204.3 B | Amazon | United States |
| 3 | Larry Ellison | $200.3 B | Oracle | United States |
| 4 | Mark Zuckerberg | $182.2 B | United States | |
| 5 | Bernard Arnault & family | $169.3 B | LVMH | France |
| 6 | Warren Buffett | $144.0 B | Berkshire Hathaway | United States |
| 7 | Bill Gates | $137.9 B | Microsoft | United States |
| 8 | Larry Page | $133.1 B | United States | |
| 9 | Amancio Ortega | $127.8 B | Zara | Spain |
| 10 | Sergey Brin | $127.5 B | United States |
Source: Forbes, 2024
Note: No matter how much money they have, there is one thing that all these billionaires have in common… they’re good with their money.
At Metropole, we truly believe that the key to building wealth and financial success for you is through property investment.
But not just any property - it needs to be an investment-grade property in an A-grade location.
As always, quality far supersedes quantity, so focus on putting your hard-earned money into the right property rather than buying as many as you can.
Tips: It’s important to have the right guidance and help on your side to make sure you avoid making any of the classic property investment mistakes along the way.
After all, the objective for property investors is to find investment-grade properties in investment-grade suburbs, regardless of the latest hotspot data.
That’s areas and properties which hold their value over the long term, rather than benefit from an uptick in demand.
But even before looking for the right location, make sure you have a Strategic Property Plan to steer you through the upcoming challenging times our property markets will encounter.
Aside from remembering that you should focus your efforts on investment-grade properties and locations, you also need to remember that property investing is a process, not an event.
That means that things have to be done in the right order – and selecting the location and the right property in that location comes right at the end of the process.
And that’s because what makes a great investment property for me, is not likely to be the same as what would suit your investment needs.
