James Packer regains crown as Australia’s richest person

Gaming billionaire James Packer has regained the title of Australia’s richest person, according to US business site Forbes, which has valued his fortune at $US3.1 billion ($4 billion), down from $US5.3 billion last year.

Packer replaces Fortescue Metals Group chief Andrew Forrest as Australia’s richest entrepreneur, after a sharp fall in the price of iron ore sent the value of Forrest’s stake in Fortescue down from $US6.6 billion to $US1.65 billion.

Packer was helped by a recent surge in the share price of casino empire Crown, the shares of which have jumped 50% since December 2008. He just pips Westfield shopping centres magnate Frank Lowy, whose fortune has fallen from $US4.4 billion to $US2.9 billion.

Apartment czar Harry Triguboff is third with $US2 billion (down from $US2.7 billion), followed by retail veteran John Gandel at $1.7 billion (down from $US2 billion) and Forrest.

The most dramatic fall on the rich list belonged to waste management entrepreneur Terry Peabody, whose fortune plummeted from $US1.05 billion to just $US280 million after a disastrous year. He fell 23 positions on the list to sneak in ranked 40th.

While three members of the list saw their fortunes increase, Forbes says two of these were bumped up due to new information; only mining investor Ken Talbot enjoyed a real increase in wealth, jumping from $US620 million to $US750 million.

While most of the entrepreneurs on the list have lost money in the last 12 months, perhaps what should really hurt their Australian pride is that fact that a New Zealand entrepreneur has been ranked as the richest person in Australasia.

Graeme Hart, whose main investments are in the packaging sector, has been valued at $US4.7 billion, putting him well ahead of Packer and Lowy.

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