Ryan Schlam has been named to the Rich 100, adding another example of a tradesperson who has turned a career in the trades into substantial personal wealth in Western Australia.
The Rich 100 entry for Schlam follows a pattern in the state where people from trade backgrounds have built companies large enough to place them among the region’s wealthiest individuals.
Trades-based businesses often start small and expand through contracting, repeat clients and project scale. In Western Australia, those growth paths can intersect with large infrastructure, mining and construction work that needs skilled labour and specialist services.
That expansion typically affects a range of local businesses, from small subcontractors to suppliers of materials and equipment. As firms grow, they also create managerial roles and administrative jobs beyond the day-to-day work of tradespeople.
For the workforce, the rise of trade-founded companies can increase demand for apprentices and qualified tradespeople, and it can shift career outcomes for people who begin in hands-on roles but move into business ownership.
From the perspective of suppliers and regional economies, larger trade businesses change purchasing patterns and create longer contract chains, which can lift activity for logistics, maintenance and professional services that support big projects.
The prominence of tradespeople on wealth lists also draws attention to the commercial side of skilled trades: pricing, risk management, bidding for large contracts and the ability to reinvest profits into new capabilities or acquisitions.
Schlam’s inclusion in the Rich 100 therefore acts as a visible example of how a trade background can be a platform for business growth in Western Australia, particularly where demand for construction and specialist services is strong.
Business owners and policymakers tracking this trend will be watching workforce pipelines, training, and the conditions that allow small trade operations to scale, since those factors influence both employment and local economic activity.
For tradespeople considering business growth, the story of operators reaching the top tiers of wealth in the state illustrates that building a larger contracting or service business can lead to outcomes well beyond individual job earnings.
The pattern also matters for communities that rely on trades work: larger firms can stabilise local supply chains and absorb peaks in demand, while also reshaping where profits and jobs are concentrated within the WA economy.
Schlam’s entry on the Rich 100 adds to a visible record in Western Australia of tradespeople who have parlayed skilled work into sizeable companies and personal fortunes.
