Rich 200 loses $25 billion

Australia’s richest men and women have lost a collective $25 billion due to the global financial crisis, amounting to the largest drop in wealth in BRW‘s Rich 200’s 26-year history.

The list counts 28 billionaires in the country, 10 fewer than last year’s list, with the total value of those on the list reaching $114 billion.

Anthony Pratt, son of the late Richard Pratt, came in at number one with a $4.3 billion fortune. Last year Fortescue Metals chief executive Andrew Forrest topped the list, but he has now slipped to the number eight spot with $2.4 billion.

Real estate mogul Frank Lowy claimed second place with a $4.2 billion fortune, with property developer Harry Triguboff taking third at $3.6 billion.

Gina Rinehart claimed fourth place, also taking the title of Australia’s richest woman. Her fortune, largely in the iron ore industry, fell in value to $3.47 billion.

James Packer and his $3 billion media fortune fell from third to sixth.

Federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull re-entered the list after four years, claiming the 182^nd spot with a $178 million fortune.

Earlier today Turnbull claimed that BRW did not have an exact figure of his net worth and that any estimate was speculative.

BRW said that downturns in the sharemarket and weaker commodity prices have contributed to lower values on the list, with $25 billion lost over the year.

Several of the list’s previous entrants where nowhere to be found on the list, including Alan Bond, who BRW claimed suffered a drop in the value of oil and diamond investments, and Babcock & Brown chief executive Phil Green.