Australia has more billionaires than ever before and Anthony Pratt tops the Financial Review Rich List with $12.60 billion.
Pratt’s Visy cardboard box manufacturing and recycling business dominates Australia, but his rising wealth is mainly due to the huge growth of Pratt Industries in the United States.
There were 60 billionaires on this year’s list, the most there have ever been in the list’s 34-year history and three names are above the $10 billion mark.
There are 22 women on the 2017 Financial Review Rich List and eight female billionaires.
The full list will be unveiled tomorrow at 6am by Fairfax Media owned the Australian Financial Review.
Harry Triguboff is number 2 on the list with wealth of $11.45 billion. Although apartment development tycoon Triguboff falls from number 1, his wealth is a record figure.
Gina Rinehart is number 3 with wealth of $10.41 billion, up from $6.06 billion last year as commodity prices improve.
Frank Lowy is number 4 on the list with $8.26 billion wealth.
Glencore boss Ivan Glasenberg is number 5 with $6.85 billion wealth.
Total wealth of the Rich List is up to $233.1 billion, from $197.3 billion last year.
The average wealth per person on the Rich List rises to a record $1.16 billion, up from $987 million last year.
There are 10 new names on the list this year and departures from the Rich List include the late James Fairfax and Michael Crouch.
The 2017 Rich List’s highest ranked debutant is Tim Roberts, son of the late Multiplex founder John Roberts. Tim Roberts, aged 46, debuts at number 62 with wealth of $986 million. He operates the Perth
Property remains the dominant sector on this year’s list. Of the 200 people on the list, 58 make most of their money in the property sector. Many on the list that have made money in other industries have poured their proceeds into property development or management businesses.