Australia’s 178 billionaires are $25.7bn richer than last year as 3.7 million live in poverty

Gina Rinehart and Anthony Pratt, first and third place respectively on the AFR rich list. Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

The wealth of Australia’s billionaires increased by $25.67bn in the past year, equivalent to almost $50,000 a minute, according to new Oxfam Australia analysis of the 2026 Australian Financial Review Rich List.

The anti-poverty organisation said the total wealth of Australian billionaires in 2026 has reached more than $686bn, while Acoss figures show 3,706,000 people live in poverty, including 757,000 children under 15 years.