Wheatley family joins billionaire ranks as Rich 100 climbs to $168 billion

The 2026 Rich 100, published last night, puts the combined worth of Australia’s wealthiest 100 people at $168 billion, an increase of about 5% on the 2025 list. Western Australia added to its share of national wealth with the billionaires’ club in the state expanding to 20 individuals and families.

The Wheatley family became the latest to pass the billionaire threshold as their family office, APPL, advances a redevelopment of the Sydney Charles Quarter in West Perth. The project will convert the former automotive sales site into a precinct combining retail, residential and hospitality uses.

Gina Rinehart kept the top position on the Rich 100 with an estimated fortune of $37.5 billion, despite a softer year for iron ore, which remains the mainstay of her wealth.

Rinehart’s holding accounts for almost a quarter of the Rich 100’s total value, and the overall list rose by about 5% compared with the previous year’s estimate.

Nicola Forrest remained in second place with $17.3 billion, while her husband Andrew Forrest held third with $16.2 billion, maintaining the strong presence of mining-related fortunes near the top of the rankings.

The 2026 list introduced 12 new entries, a mix of recently created fortunes and established family wealth that grew under further scrutiny and valuation.

At the bottom of the table the Wandel farming family entered the Rich 100 as the 100th ranked member with an assessed worth of $280 million, up from the approximate $215 million threshold used in last year’s estimates.

The changes this year reflect concentration of wealth across several sectors: large-scale mining remains central to the largest fortunes, property development has elevated family offices such as APPL, and agriculture produced new entrants to the list.

Western Australia’s increase to 20 billionaires highlights the state’s continuing role in generating private wealth through resource exposure and local development projects.

The Rich 100 continues to combine legacy fortunes and recent winners, with individual movements driven by commodity prices, property deals and the reassessment of family assets during the annual review.