Greenie billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes PLUNGES down the list of Australia’s richest people – so who’s up and who’s down?

Gina Rinehart tops the list for the fourth yearAtlassian co-founders lost more than $10bOverall, tech lost ground while mining gained

This year’s richest Australians have been named with mining and manufacturing tycoons leading the pack while tech entrepreneurs such as Mike Cannon-Brookes have taken a hit.

Mining magnates Gina Rinehart ($37.41b) and Andrew Forrest ($33.29b) topped the Australian Financial Review’s annual Rich List for 2023, while Cannon-Brookes ($19.01b) and his business partner, Scott Farquhar ($18.16b), lost more than seven billion each since 2022.

Atlassian co-founders Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar lost 31.7 per cent and 31.2 per cent of their wealth respectively after the software company suffered a drop in share price and shed jobs.

The largest jump among the list’s top 10 super wealthy people was Clive Palmer ($23.66b), who saw a 21.1 per cent increase after selling his nickel business and reaping mining royalties.

Rising interest rates and inflation were cited as the primary reason for tech industry figures including Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar suffering a drop in this year’s list.

Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes (pictured) and Scott Farquhar lost 31.7 per cent and 31.2 per cent of their wealth respectively between 2022 and 2023

Gina Rinehart topped the list for the fourth consecutive year, with a net worth of $37.41billion in 2023

Fellow mining magnate Andrew Forrest is the second richest Australian, increasing his wealth by 8.4 per cent since 2022 to now sit at $33.29billion

Shares of Atlassian slumped about 50 per cent on the American stock exchange in March, which immediately impacted the founders’ net worth.

Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar saw $20 billion wiped overnight from their combined fortunes in what has been a brutal global market for tech firms.

The duo laid off 500 staff, or roughly 5 per cent of their workforce, in areas of research, human resources and program management, which they say will rebalance the company.

The co-founders have been diversifying their portfolios in the past two years by aggressively pursuing renewable energy investments and buying Sydney real estate.

Rinehart has held the top spot for four consecutive years now.

Her wealth primarily comes from the success of her massive Roy Hill mine which exported more than 60 million tonnes of iron ore in 2021-22, and Hancock Prospecting, which delivered a bumper profit of $5.8billion in 2022.

Manufacturers and miners performed better this year than last, with 14 slots taken by them in the top 200 richest – an increase from 11 in 2022.

Fortunes built on digital technology saw a general slide year-on-year, decreasing from 27 to 24 people on this year’s list.

Farquhar (pictured) and his partner Cannon-Brookes were leap-frogged on this year’s list by Clive Palmer, with the latter seeing the biggest increase in wealth within the top 10

Palmer increased his wealth by 21.1 per cent and is now the fifth richest man in the country with $23.66billion now in the coffers after selling his nickel company and reaping mining royalty cheques

Other tech giants who suffered in the latest list were Tesla’s Australian chairperson Robyn Denholm, computing salesman David Dicker and entrepreneur Fung Lam, who all fell off the list since last year by failing to pass the $690million threshold to be included.

Canva founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, who created the digital designer space, also fell a spot on the list.

The couple landed at number nine with a $13.18billion valuation, a 4.6 per cent wealth decrease since they held the eighth spot in 2022.

Venture capital investors marked down Canva’s stock by 30 per cent last year amid a tumultuous time for tech industries, which AFR deemed unnecessary given the graphic design software’s continued growth.

Mr Palmer benefitted from a price forecast in February, raising the price of iron by $US25 per tonne.

The unpopular politician leap-frogged over the Atlassian founders, from seventh place last year to fifth place this year, after selling his Queensland nickel business for $1.4billion.

Six men debuted on the list for the first time this year, with no new women appearing.

Since 2022, the overall number of women to be included has fallen from 37 to 36, but remains a significant increase from the four that were included on the original list.

The first Rich List was published in 1983 and included a total wealth of $4.6billion across the 200 people listed at the time.

Since then the total wealth of Australia’s richest people has reached $563billion, and the nation’s household wealth sits at $14.9trillion.