Billionaires post bumper year, Aussie families battle rising costs
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While many Australians spent the past year looking for ways to stretch their pay packets further, the country’s billionaires added almost $50,000 a minute to their fortunes.
That figure is close to what a worker on minimum wage will earn in an entire year ($52,254.80) under today’s Fair Work Commission ruling.
Mining magnate Gina Rinehart was the richest person in Australia for the seventh year in a row. Getty
Analysis by Oxfam Australia found the collective wealth of Australia’s billionaires jumped by $25.67 billion over the past year, taking their combined fortunes to more than $686 billion.
The anti-poverty organisation says Australia is now home to a record 178 billionaires, up 17 on last year, bringing fresh attention to the gap between the richest and the rest.
The findings coincide with the release of the 2026 Australian Financial Review Rich List, which reveals the combined fortunes of Australia’s 200 richest people have climbed to $707.25 billion, up from $667.8 billion a year ago.
Mining magnate Gina Rinehart retained the top spot for a seventh straight year, with an estimated fortune of $39.01 billion.
Oxfam’s analysis found Australia’s 20 richest people now hold a combined fortune greater than the wealth of the country’s bottom 3 million households.
The organisation said the increase in billionaire wealth recorded over the past year alone could have lifted nearly 1 million people out of poverty, covered household electricity bills across the country for over a year, funded Australia’s aid budget almost five times over, and paid grocery bills for almost 3 million households for a year.
Oxfam Australia chief executive Jennifer Tierney said the figures highlighted the contrast between soaring fortunes at the top end of the wealth ladder and the financial challenges still confronting many families.
Australia now has its highest number of billionaires on record, Oxfam has revealed. AAP
“There is something fundamentally wrong with a system where extreme wealth keeps skyrocketing while so many people are struggling to afford the basics, and governments claim there is not enough money for housing, healthcare, climate action and essential services.”
Tierney said measures in the federal budget aimed at helping households and reforming some tax concessions were welcome but did not address what she described as the scale of wealth inequality in Australia.
“While modest, reforms to capital gains tax and negative gearing are important steps towards a fairer tax system. Australia should not continue rewarding wealth accumulation more generously than work, particularly at a time when so many households are under pressure,” she said.
Oxfam is calling on the federal government to introduce additional measures aimed at taxing extreme wealth, arguing the revenue could help fund housing, healthcare, climate action and other essential services.
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